Bronzite
by Storm0Wolf
Summary: They aren't friends. They are a team. He has no reason to fear them, but he did. He was afraid, because he knows all beings have a weakness. And they were looking for his. They were undisciplined and unimpressive, but he was afraid. No one has ever searched for him before with the intent to kill, but now, those anonymous text messages were leading them right to him.
1. Prologue

The day is as black as It remembers. The screeching of children as they run though the streets playing tag, and the foul smell of grass being slaughtered as blades cut them down to even heights. Yes, It has always hated these ancient, small towns.

It moved silently though the forest, the sun peaking over the horizon. Grazing against a young tree, It watched with large, macabre orange eyes as the sapling began to smoke before withering to the ground in a pitiful pile. Animals scurried out of Its way. Does abandon their fawns. Ants abandon their queen. There was no comradery in the attempt to escape the slimy gaze of this horribly divine being. Stopping at the edge of the forest, It stared at the dwellings of the most pitiful creatures to ever grovel on this planet. Humans. They were ugly, stupid beings. Weak too. It would admit that they had become stronger over the years, trading sharpened rocks for rounded metal. Indeed, humans were the most fearsome mortal beings to ever grovel on this planet, but they were still mortal.

Bringing a burnt claw to its wrist, It cut skin and a glob of thick, white blood trailed down its arm. Words were hissed passed Its lips, and the wind rushed forward like a runaway train. The air spun at Its feet, creating a vortex of wind and dirt. The ground moaned in agony before it cracked and crumbled away, revealing an old unmarked grave. Yes, humans were mortal and weak, but some were stronger than others. The bones glowed yellow before a man, a trapped soul, floated in front of him. It did not cringe away from the maggots that infested the soul's eye, or the bloodied bone that should have held the man's jaw. It did not look away from the grey jacket filled with miniature holes, or the blood that flowed down the soul's neck where the phantom of a knife was settled in its skin. No, It only curled its lips back and hissed out an order though sharpened teeth, and the soul turned away and entered the old house at the edge of the forest.

There were screams, but It only panted slightly. It turned away from the house that now hosted a newly made poltergeist and returned back into the forest from which it emerged. There was nothing else nearby to amuse It, and simply knowing the havoc that would be wrecked upon the bugs that occupied that home was enough. Although, It would usually stick around to watch the morbid fun, It decided to move on, for It knew that _he_ was watching It.

It had little knowledge on who this he was, but he was by far the most venomous humans It had ever seen. He was always there, watching It reek havoc and chaos on humanity, and he was always trying to end It's game. A year or two in the past, It would not care about the human mosquito that was zooming around his face. One swat here and the little mosquito would be in pieces over there; but this human was different. Like the weapons of humanity this man had changed to kill its target. This man had changed to kill It. The mosquito was now zooming to close for comfort, buzzing in his ear and occasionally landing on his skin, but the pest had yet to figure out how to puncture the rough skin of It. He knew that It would not try to find him, that would be admitting that It thought he was a threat, and It had far to much pride to do that.

Still, It kept tabs on this man, just in case. It was prideful, but not arrogant. Stronger beings than It had fallen to these pesky mortals. So, when he started gathering an army, It knew. Although this little militia was poorly trained and currently asunder, It kept watch on them. Not out of fear, of course not, why would It fear what It could kill. They were only still alive because of Its passing whim.

It was not afraid.


	2. Flat Broke

"We need another car."

The sun ray's beamed down on the black 1969 Ford Mustang as it threw up pebbles and dirt while racing across the New Mexico desert. The driver, back drenched in sweat, gripped the steering wheel tighter. His car wasn't meant to support this many people in this weather, it was a classic, meant for less extreme temperatures. When Elijah fixed up the car he centered it around one thing, himself. And possibly a hot chick if needed. Not five grown ass adults.

Ignoring the hostile vibe of the driver, Eric continued on, hoping to get some kind of conversation started. Honestly, this group was a bit dull at times, unless of course Daisy was talking about her newest interest, but the ginger was currently staring out the window at the dry dirt and cactus that covered the land for miles.

"I was thinking something cool like a Jaguar or a Lexis."

"Do you have Jaguar or Lexis money?" The girl in the passenger seat, Savannah, didn't bother to look up from her phone, her tone slightly tired, "Because as of last week, we're broke."

Eric chuckled sheepishly and leaned back in his seat without another word. He knew what she was half teasingly implying, but it wasn't completely his fault. After all, Elijah was the one that insisted that shotguns would be more accurate at hitting a teleporting ghost than a handgun. He was right, they hit the ghost. And the mirrors. And the glass table. And the windows. And the grandfather clock. They were at an Antique auction.

Usually they would just ditch but Daisy, Theodore, and Eric all insisted they leave cash to pay for the damages since the money was going to a charity. To prevent gun violence.

Elijah didn't give a damn, and Savannah insisted that their services included damages that they were not liable for. Basically, in her mind, if they wanted to supernatural stuff gone they would have to deal with half of their material items being damaged. Although, even she had wondered why the hell Elijah hit the Grandfather clock. Most of the damage was caused by Daisy, girl was a master with knives but couldn't shoot a shotgun for anything. Elijah, on the other hand, was their best shooter; there was no reason for him to hit that clock.

"How long until the next town?" Bringing a hand up, Elijah wiped a thick sheen of sweat off his forehead in disgust. He couldn't stand being in this car a moment longer with these guys.

Switching to the map app on her phone, Savannah clicked her tongue in annoyance. Their next official stop wasn't for another three hours, but she doubted Elijah would make it that far. He would never admit to it, but she could see the way his eyes were drooping and his posture was tensing; he was exhausted. Elijah refuses to let anyone else drive his mustang, which led to him driving them all across the country at high speeds. More than once he's taken a wrong turn just to spite her whenever they got into an argument, which wasn't as often as his arguments with Eric, but when they did occur they were explosive enough to have him threatening to leave them all on the side of the road.

"There's a small town about ten minutes away if you take that turn over there." It was decent enough; Planch, New Mexico with a population of 19,000, one school to serve all grade levels, a small family run motel, and a place to fill up. The car lurched everyone was thrown to the left as Elijah didn't bother to slow down as he turned right. Jolting awake, Theodore elbowed Daisy in the side, causing her to yelp as the events caused her to be roughly pulled from her daydreaming. She only smiled and shook her head as Theo stuttered out an apology, his cheeks flaming red.

Resisting the urge to return to her world of fantasy, Daisy sat up a little straighter, trying to get more being squished between Theo and the door. Her back cracked, and her hair whipped in her face as wind from the open window grazed across her front. Looking at her companions, Daisy admitted that they were an odd group.

Theo was a sweetheart and a registered genius, well according to Oxford University. He was offered a full ride, but turned it down to stay close to his mother and brothers. Excluding her, he was the closest to having a normal home life. Compared to the others, she got along with him the best. She loved talking to him about supernatural beings, because he had so many whacky theories, and even more concrete facts.

The car slowed down slightly as they entered the city lines, Elijah was going to avoid another ticket despite his annoyance at traveling below fifty miles per hour. It would be silly to lie and say that he wasn't intimidating, Daisy was apprehensive about the man with the bulky build and combat boots when she first met him. Even after traveling with Elijah for almost two weeks, she would not describe him as nice or even pleasant. He was quite rude actually, with his sarcastic comments and short temper, but he was the best shooter she'd ever met. That was saying something, considering Daisy once met a werewolf hunter from North Texas, who could shoot the wings off a fly without killing it.

Rolling to a stop, Elijah parked on the side of the road. The building ahead wasn't any larger than her old home. The two story house was painted light purple, with a slightly overgrown garden and barely stable looking porch. Frankly, Daisy thought it looked a bit worn down, but most old houses in these small towns tended to suffer from a lack of proper care. It was sad really, Daisy could imagine how pretty it would have looked in its prime, with little kids playing tag in the front yard while a smiling grandmother sat on the porch stroking an orange cat…

No one bothered Daisy as she drifted back into her realm of wonders. There was a slight breeze in the humid air as the group exited the car, stretching their legs. Theo slung his bag over his shoulder, making sure the laptop was secure before following Savannah into the house.

A women, more than likely in her late forties, looked up from her makeshift desk when the door opened with a low creak, the steel chandelier swayed lightly as the wind drifted in. She didn't get many potential occupants at this time of year, not many people wanted to visit their small little time in the height of summer vacation. One of the young adults, maybe even in her late teens. Her black hair was spiraled in a curly afro, completely untamed against her dark brown skin. She wasn't a curvy girl, more muscle than anything. The boy beside her, however, was tall and thin, like a young bamboo shoot. His tan skin and Disney like hazel eyes made the women wonder if they were possibly foreign students traveling cross country.

"Hello," She strained a smile, "Welcome to Miller's Bed and Breakfast, do you guys need a room for the night? Oh, I'm sorry, my names Amanda, Amanda Miller."

The Mediterranean looking boy, Theo, ignored them completely, instead opting to stare at the numerous pictures on the wooden wall, but the African girl, Savannah, walked further into the foyer, her movements sluggish and stiff. "Yeah, we're gonna need two rooms please," She paused, her face scrunching up in thought. "Actually how many people do you think can stay in each room realistically."

How many? So that means there might be more people outside or on the way. Amanda scratched her hair in thought before sighing. Her hair was so thin, the stress was becoming unbearable. "Well, most rooms have two twin beds and a pull out mattress, so two or three. How many people are traveling with you, Ms." Amanda paused, giving the girl a chance to provide her with a name.

"Aline," Savannah didn't hesitate, but she could still see the curiosity on the women's face. Most people were skeptical of a group traveling through these small towns during this time of year. "And this is my friend, Nico, we're taking a road trip up to California with our other three friends."

"California?" The women's eyes dulled, that made more sense. Tons of kids headed to California for the summer, right? It had beaches and clubs, almost everything college kids loved to do in their free time. "I'm from California myself, although, it was a small town on the boarder of Orgen, so we didn't have a lot of tourist."

"So you're not originally from around here then?" Theo raised an eyebrow, stepping over to join the conversation with interest. Amanda shook her head with a nostalgic smile, pulling two brass keys off the rack behind her, she slid them across the counter as Savannah filled out the paperwork.

"No, I moved here about two years ago when I got engaged to Marc." Her smile became strained slightly and she glanced over at the pictures on the wall Theo had admired earlier, "His family has owned this place since it opened. I'm not sure when exactly, but I remember it was around the time was town was established so, I'll guess early 1800s."

Amanada motioned for them to follow her up the narrow stairs, the walls were lined with pictures of people long gone. Theo glanced at each one quickly before they came to a hallway, watching as Amanda jiggled the door open.

"I thought I told Marc to fix this door." Grumbled Amanda as she stepped aside to let them in. It was clean enough, although very plain. The bed was covered in dark grey sheets and the carpet had a few stains, but it was livable. "Here are you're keys, your other room is directly across the hall and the bathroom is two doors down on your right."

"Yeah," Savannah was no longer paying her any attention, rather opting to look out the window, "Thank you."

Everyone left to their designated rooms, and Savannah could only hope that Eric and Elijah wouldn't go at it tonight. Sprawled out on her bed, Savannah resisted the urge to groan at the thought of having to get back in that car the next day. The door clicked closed as Daisy closed it behind her, pajamas on and hair still wrapped up in a towl as she crossed the room to her bed. She liked sleeping with damp hair, something Savannah always found a little strange.

"Are you asleep?" Daisy whispered, pulling a brush though her hair before starting to braid her hair.

"I wish," Savannah stared at Daisy attempt to untangle her fingers from her hair before hoisting herself up. Savannah quietly sat behind the ginger and began to restart the braid.

"The estrogen levels in this room are sickening," Elijah pushed the door open, lacking the grace to knock or put on a shirt. Theo and Eric trailed in behind him, both having the decency to look even slightly sheepish at just bargaining in. Shoulders slumping at the soothing feel of someone gently braiding her hair, Daisy didn't seem bothered at all by Elijah's entrance, and Savannah knew a loosing battle when she saw one, so she kept her comment to herself.

"Sorry!" Theo blurted out, face burning red as he situated himself on the couch, far away from the females. "They just, well, had a question Savannah." His leg bounced quickly up and down.

Elijah hopped into Savannah's bed, the springs creaking under his bulky frame while Eric simply plopped himself on the floor, unusually quiet. "Yeah, well," Elijah started, "I just wanted to know how the hell you plan to pay for these rooms." After all, Savannah was the one to point out they had no money, so why the hell would she book them two rooms! Savannah frowned, putting a band at the end of Daisy's braid to keep it in place.

"I have it all worked out. Think of it sort of like Dining and dashing." She wasn't happy about being a thief, but they were five unemployed young adults with barely any income. Daisy's grandmother puts money on her card once a month, Theo had a good amount of money left over from contest he won in school, and Elijah got money by fixing cars here and there as they traveled. She and Eric had no income at all, and most of their money went into gas since the Mustang was such a gas-guzzler.

Elijah barked out a laugh. That was rich! Savannah, admittedly wasn't of the highest moral fabric, she justified using people as bait for demons, lying, and stealing ammunition, but was strongly against stealing from normal, every day people. Not like he was much better though, he did the same stuff and sometimes more. In that aspect, Savannah was the most similar to him in the group. Daisy was too innocent; she was always off in her la la land and thinking the best of everyone. She was pretty, but not his type really, way to naïve for his liking. Although she could be a bit creepy at times, always staring at him like she could see his every thought.

Theo was bearable, a stuttering mess around the ladies, but he a decent guy. Elijah could think of more than one occasion where Theo's knowledge had gotten him out of a bad situation, even though the guy rarely sat still, or shut up. But, thought Elijah, Theo was nowhere near as bad as fucking Eric.

Man, he couldn't stand that guy! He was always talking about something, which led to Elijah going off on him. Never in his life had Elijah met such a level headed, goofball. Everyone else in the group enjoyed his company. Eric and Theo could go in for hours about whatever, because Eric actually had a genuine interest about Theo's whack job theories. Plus, Daisy could always count on Eric to be just as excited about her new obsession as she was. Savannah and Eric weren't as close, but she just seemed to enjoy his optimistic disposition. Elijah, however, had spent more time arguing and messing with Eric than actually talking to him. The two guys just didn't click. Elijah was too sarcastic, too aggressive, too easily annoyed; and Eric was too honest, too friendly, and too dang nice.

The air conditioning whined loudly, before the lights flickered violently. No one moved. Boards in the houses infrastructure creaked under the sheer power of the wind. Crickets picked up the speed of their songs. Elijah stood up, hazel blue eyes darting between the window and the door, dirty blond hair flattened in the back from laying on the bed, but he made no move to fix it. He'd been a hunter too long to not suspect a supernatural being during these kinds of situations. Faintly, the sound of footsteps on the wood hallway became louder, and Elijah barely paid any attention to Eric as he moved towards the door. The short brown hair on Eric's head seemed lighter in the flickering artificial lights.

A high, animalistic shriek tore though the house, and Eric yanked the door open and darted towards the source, Elijah two steps behind him. Savannah hopped off the bed, tearing her duffle bag open and yanking out two guns, before she followed the two out. Theo and Daisy rushed down the hallway, checking to make sure there was no one else on the floor before they scampered down the stairs.

The house seemed to vibrate as pictures crashed to the floor; Theo stumbled as a pipe burst out of the wall near his head. He could barely walk straight, there was too much noise as the fire alarm went off and all the televisions turned on, each playing static on their loudest volume. There were gunshots, before a man screamed in frantic torment, and everything stopped.

Elijah was gripping the gun, one of Savannah's gun, tightly as he stared into the foyer. He missed. Amanda sat, shaking on the floor staring at the man who, only moments ago, was having a lovely conversation. He laid, mouth wide in shock and eyes tinged with fear, in a mess of plaster, glass and metal. In the chaos, the steel chandelier had fallen from the ceiling, slamming into his head and he, hopefully, died instantly. But she couldn't bring herself to even feel sorrow over his death, only disbelief and confusion.

"Hey," she forced herself to look at the young man kneeling beside her, a pale hand secured around her upper arm. He was one of the boys in Aline's group, she never caught his name. Not getting an answer from the women, Eric's blue eyes scanned her for any injuries. Not noticing anything serious, he tried again. This time she shook her head, and put her hands over her mouth, eyes going wide.

"Oh God," She whimpered, eyes returning to stare at the man on the floor. "Oh God, Marc!" Amanda let out a wail, before rushing to his side, her emotions hitting her at once. Her husband was dead, killed right before her eyes. But, she froze, by what?

"Oh God, I don't," she paused to collect herself, "I don't understand!"

The group could only watch. Daisy nudged Elijah, and he let his arm drop, hiding the gun behind his back. There was a buzz, and everyone stiffened as Amanda screamed, trauma and fear causing an involuntary reaction on her part. Reaching in the pocket of his workmen's jacket, Theo pulled out his phone, scanning over the text message quickly. It was from an unknown number.

_Don't let it get away!_

It was from Him. The anonyms figure who assembled them, who ordered them.

"He said don't let it get away," Theo repeated, not at all concerned about the women on the floor hearing him, she was in shock so he doubted her ability to comprehend her surroundings at the moment. Everyone knew who he was talking about.

Daisy called an ambulance. They asked a few questions, their names, their reason for being here, what they saw, all of which they lied about. Quickly gathering their stuff, they returned to the car. Theo sat in the passenger seat, the bright light of the computer screen burned his eyes slightly as his fingers floated over the keys. Daisy sat, criss cross, on the hood, staring at the house for any further signs of supernatural activity. Savannah was in the back, trunk popped open as she quickly filled salt into old medicine containers, two for each of them, and placed them in brown satchels. Beside her, Elijah was filling magazines with iron bullets and placing three in each satchel.

"You guys need any help?" Eric walked up behind them, watching them as they prepared each members anti-freak packs, as he liked to call them.

"Does Theo have any idea what it might have been?" Elijah had recounted what he had seen to Theo earlier. A man, in what appeared to be a grey uniform, Civil war period really. But that didn't make sense. New Mexico was only a territory at that time, therefore there weren't any battles to be fought in this area, and so no reasons for a Civil War soldier to be in this area.

"If he does he hasn't told me," Eric shrugged, holding in a yawn and swatting away mosquitos from his face.

"Guys, Theo got it!" Daisy's head popped over the roof of the car, and they gathered around Theo.

"Well, I think I found a possible way there might have been a soldier in this area." Theo had a tired smile on his face, "Ya see, even though New Mexico wasn't a state or involved in the war at the time, California had already been annexed, but wasn't really involved in the fighting since it was so isolated and moving troops that great of a distance would have been military suicide. So, some of the soldiers, deserters I should say, would flee to California. The state was big enough, and new enough that there weren't many fully established law systems, so outlaws had a haven where they could try to get enough money to return under new names." Theo stopped to take a breath, "But not all of them made it, actually from what I know about that period, most of them probably didn't. Many soldiers were just young kids and young adults without the necessary skills to survive the American West. They ran into all kinds of problems, Natives, snakes, lack of food or water, and some just went crazy. I think that it might be possible that our spirit is one of those deserters, who somehow turned into a poltergeist."

"But I saw them, poltergeist aren't visible, hell they aren't even human." Elijah interrupted, pointing out the flaw in Theo's reasoning, but Theo only smiled.

"Actually, there are many different types of poltergeist. Some are just random beings, and some are formed from attention seeking human spirits who haven't moved on yet." Now they could see the wheels turning in Theo's head, "And, I had a theory, some poltergeist are incredibly strong, having a strong enough spirit to move bookshelves or tables, but that's usually as strong as they get. This one however, was able to knock a steel chandelier down, burst a water pipe, while at the same time causing serious damage to the electrical wiring of the house. It was also able to vocalize. Therefore, we can assume that this poltergeist is stronger than the norm, and since this area does not have a history of things like this happening, this spirit for some reason has chosen now to act."

"Theo," Elijah warned, he was tired, far to tired to listen to Theo's theory and reasoning, which could go on for hours. Frowning slightly, Theo continued, this time condensing it.

"Basically I don't think this poltergeist occurred naturally, and coupled with the fact that we were contacted by Him and warned to not ignore it, I have reason to believe this poltergeist is the work of the infamous It."

* * *

**Updates are Sundays and Thursdays**


	3. Hunter Friends

Eric slung the satchel over his body, patting down his pockets to make sure he didn't forget anything. He glanced over at the others, stretching an arm over his head until he heard the desired pop. Theo was leaning over a local map, using a pen, he indicated certain areas around the home where they would scavenge for the remains using one of Theo's inventions. It was more effective at sensing the presence of supernatural beings than what they could buy on one of those wacky online places; he called them Ubiety. Walking back over to the group, Eric felt the stiffness in his body slowly trail out; he hated sleeping in the Mustang, but would rather not sleep in a house with a moody spirit either. Daisy was the only one to look up as he joined them, giving him a small smile as Theo continued on.

"I imagine that the remains have to be located in a spot near the house," Rubbing his face, Theo resisted the urge to let his eyes droop, "that would make it easier for It to direct the spirit to the location, if there are any remains that is." That was the one flaw with Theo's theory, he had no way of determining if the poltergeist would be classified as a separate being or as a tormented human spirit.

"So the we'll look for the bones, salt and burn them, and be on our way. If we don't find the remains, we go inside and kill it." Toying with her hair, Savannah nodded, satisfied with the simplicity of the job, but Eric wasn't too sure. Whenever It was involved, things tended to get way more complex, like the plot lines of those weird Korean dramas that Daisy liked so much.

"Well, that's the idea, only I'd like to have us stay around for a day if we do find the bones. Just to make sure its gone." Theo added on, standing up straight. "We only have to cover two areas really, the third has been scavenged before by builders in the early 2000s when they were looking for a possible oil pocket."

"You wanna just split up? Two and three?" Elijah grunted as he polished his gun for the nth time, he treated his guns almost as well as he treated his car.

"Come on, man, since when did splitting up ever do anything good for anybody. Didn't you watch Scooby Doo?" Eric chuckled, ignoring Elijah's sharp retort.

"I would like to stay here actually," Theo ignored their banter and scratched his head, "Ashley will be released from the hospital today, and if she shows up while we're gone, the poltergeist might try something. Since this one is outside the norm, I don't want to take any chances by assuming that it is only active at night. It also allows me to act as a base for you guys, providing information if something further comes up." No one disagreed with him, even if they did, they had no better plan of action. "Right, since Savannah and Daisy are both proficient in Latin, you two will be separated just in case we need to lift a curse or something. "

"I'll go with Daisy," Eric offered, smiling lightly at the girl. He knew that she and Elijah didn't communicate to well, their fighting styles were so different. Plus he didn't feel like working with Savannah today, she'd been in a bit on edge ever since they got the text from Him. Eric wasn't though; unlike her he was partially raised by a hunter, a police officer that raised him after his family died. Closing his eyes tightly, Eric forced the memories from his mind, this wasn't the time for that. Unclenching his fist, he blinked as everyone stared at him. Flashing them a smile, he reassured them that it was nothing and everything returned to normal, but not Elijah. They made eye contact, holding it for a second. There was no understanding, concern, or communication in that look. They weren't sizing each other up, they just looked at one another, taking in the small details they didn't notice before. Eric noticed how Elijah had a small pink scar on the skin between this thumb and pointer finger on his right hand. He wondered what Elijah noticed about him as their gazes dropped away, Eric focusing his attention on Daisy.

The sun rose higher in the sky, clouds absent, as the pairs began their search. The forest wasn't too thick, ants crawled systematically on the ground and up trees, deer and birds fled from their path. Eric felt a bit clumsy as each step he made crunched down on the foliage, disturbing the chaotic serenity of the forest. Staring intently at the Ubeity, Daisy followed behind him.

"Man I hope this goes as smoothly as Theo said." He sighed, ducking under another low hanging branch. "I'd rather not have to go back in that house, the people in the pictures are creepy."

"I know!" Daisy gazed upwards, the sky barely visible under all the thick trees. This was an odd spot in New Mexico she assumed, they drove through a desert on the way here, but the town was full of Gambel Oaks. She remembered when she was a little girl; she wanted to work at a Wild life Preserve when she got older. To protect and spend her time with all the trees, flowers, animals, insects, and sounds of nature sounded like a wonderful job to her, so she started reading. Now looking back on it, Daisy realized that might have been her first real obsession. Hours spent reading books, watching documentaries, talking to actual professionals on the phone, Daisy was an expert on these things.

"Ah, Daisy, you're ignoring me!" Eric whined playfully when he noticed the girl was off in her own world, snapping her eyes to his, she temporarily looked appalled with herself before seeing the teasing smile on his face.

"I'm sorry, please continue."

Eric laughed, "I still think we need another car, a truck maybe, to carry all the supplies. We could keep our bags in the Mustang and the guns and other stuff in the truck." He scratched his head, "but if we get separated, the people in the Mustang won't have," The Ubiety let out a low beep and the two glanced at each other. Taking the lead, Daisy turned right and left, trying to see where the signal was strongest. Silently following her, Eric felt his heart pick up as the Ubiety's cry became faster. He could feel the adrenaline run though his arm, veins bulging slightly in his skin.

Daisy paused as the Ubiety gave a high pitched buzz, signaling they were at the height of the energy. It wasn't anything special; they would have walked right passed it. The trees were just as thick, just as tall, the birds were just as scarce, and the bugs were just as small. The ground was level, nothing unusual that indicated a grave at all.

Eric dug his phone out of his jacket pocket, listening to it ring for a moment, before looking at the phone in surprise.

"He didn't pick up," trying again, Eric felt his stomach clench when it went to voicemail for a second time. Theo rarely missed a phone call, he always had the thing on him. This time he tried Elijah, it only rang twice.

"What?" Eric relaxed a little bit, if Elijah was answering his phone like a jerk, then they were ok.

"The typical answer when answering your phone is 'hello', Elijah." Eric smiled as Elijah cursed him out about where he could put his hello. "Look man, we think we found the body, Daisy's Ubiety caught a ping, but we can't reach Theo."

"So? The hell you call me for? Burn that shit." Elijah bit out, stopping where he was. Savannah paused, barely keeping herself from running into the larger man. Rolling her eyes at his aggressive tone, she could only guess that Eric was on the other line. She waited patiently; Elijah would most likely either hang up on him or give her the phone in a minute. If he hung up, Eric would call her if it was important.

"No, I forgot my shovel," Eric admitted, not a hint of shame or embarrassment in his voice or mind.

"You dumb shit." Elijah shoved his phone at Savannah, turning back the way they came. Taking large steps to keep up with him, she pressed the phone to her ear.

"Eric?"

"Hey, 'Vanna," He smiled as her voice came on the line, "I don't think he told you, but we found the grave, and I don't have my shovel. But I can't reach Theo, and he hasn't called me back."

"Boy," Savannah sighed, " you got him all worked up for that? Don't you remember him telling us that he can't get signal out here?" Well now didn't he feel silly? That made sense, that's why they were using a local map and not a picture Theo didn't just pull up on his phone or tablet. "Me and Elijah are almost back to the car, we'll touch base with Theo and head over to you guys. Where are you exactly?"

"Honestly, we're not even a fourth a mile away from the back of the house, we were on our way back when it pinged."

"Alright, here we come." Savannah hung up, walking a bit faster until she was side by side with Elijah. Lifting his phone in offering, he only gave a short grunt in thanks.

The sun was almost unbearable when they exited the protective shade of the trees. Savannah and Elijah exchanged small talk about guns and their accuracy as they approached the Mustang. Theo wasn't in sight. Savannah snapped her head to the house, the door was slightly open, and all the shades shut tight. They were open this morning.

"Damn it, Theo," Savannah cursed under her breath. He went in the house. He wasn't supposed to go in for any reason, even if Amanda returned and refused to stay outside.

"Think he took a gun?" Elijah muttered, the hood of the trunk already open as he switched out his casual hand gun for one of ones loaded with iron bullets, shoving magazines into his bag. He cursed when he noticed none of the weapons were missing, Theo didn't have any of his own. "No he didn't, but I bet he took his fucking computer with him."

Savannah didn't argue, yanking the small shovel from the trunk as well, "I'll run to the others, salt and burn the body. Keep your phone on you." Elijah said nothing as she took off towards the woods in the back of the house. Running forward, he forced himself to a stop when the door slammed in his face. He could still see the flickering of lights, the buzz in his ears as he kicked the door, letting out a yell of frustration when it didn't open.

"Theo!" He growled, never stopping his attempt to kick in the door. Leg throbbing, panting hard, the door finally gave way, and Elijah entered the fray. The clock spun out of control, the steel chandelier was still on the floor, the glass from shattered picture frames still on the floor. The furniture was everywhere, toppled over and strewn about. "Theo!" He tried again, heading straight upstairs before ducking as a thick book flew towards him. The house was vibrating again, Elijah couldn't focus, couldn't get his bearings, but he kept moving forward.

Cold seized him, knocking into him the moment he was off the stairs and in the hallway. It grabbed him, driving into his muscles and making him hiss as the sweat from earlier felt like it froze on his skin.

"Amanda, come here!" That was Theo's voice, Elijah pushed his body forward, ignoring the voice that told him to turn back. This thing was evil, nothing like he had encountered before. It didn't scare him, ok maybe a little, but not enough to make him pause in his actions. Running into the room at the end of the hallway, Elijah positioned his gun in front of him, scanning quickly. Amanda was crouching on the floor near Theo. They were in the middle of a salt circle, but it didn't seem to stop the poltergeist, only slow it down. "Elijah, the window!" Theo was barely heard as Amanda let out another wail, her eyes bloodshot.

There it was. Standing by the window, the transparent yellow soldier gazed at them with an inky grey eye, his left eye socket filled with maggots and ants. He hovered above the floor, what should have been his mouth but nothing more than a hole, opened wide, too wide, and it let out the same barbaric screech as before.

Elijah shot, the bullet passing though the soldier as it hit the window frame behind it. White wooden chips fell to the floor, and a chair was launched as Elijah. Ducking, Elijah crawled further into the room, rolling up to one knee before firing again. It was a perfect shot, but the bullet whizzed through it's head, cracking into the wooden wall.

"Did you burn the remains?" Theo yelled, yanking Amanda out of the way as the bookshelf gave a shutter and almost tipped on top of them.

"Not yet, Savannah is heading over to the others to help." The bullets weren't even fazing it, it let out another cry, the rope necklace with a single bead bouncing on its chest. "The fuck is going on Theo?"

"I don't know, it didn't do anything until we came in this room."

"No shit, this is the furthest point from the door in the house, it was waiting for you!" Elijah growled, guiding the other two roughly from the room and into the hallway, ignoring Theo's dumbfound look. The vibrations became violent, they fell on top of each other, unable to stand. The soldier lazily floated out of the room, eye fixed on Amanda. She let out another sob as she met its gaze, clinging desperately to Theodore.

This thing was going to kill her! And these people, these traveling students, they weren't what they seemed at all. Amanda wasn't stupid; she knew they knew what was going on. Oh God, what the hell was going on? She almost wanted to grab a bible and recite her confessions, because she was going to die!

Theo scrambled to his feet as Elijah lunged forward in an attempt to physically stop the ghost. He was fearless, desperate and Theo felt respect for the man multiply tenfold, but felt his hope sink when Elijah passed right through him and crash onto the floor. But his eyes focused in on the ghost, on the necklace around its neck. When Elijah brushed against it, it moved. It was tangible.

Theo felt a rough tug and he was sliding across the ground, Amanda pinned to the wall by and unseen force. The tears and snot ran down her face as the soldier came closer. It reached to touch her, and everything stopped.

The vibrating ended. Amanda dropped to the ground, sobbing. It all just stopped. Elijah just stared at the place where the ghost was, and his phone rang. He fumbled as he pulled it out, ignoring the stinging in his shoulder from the rough landing. It was Savannah.

"I'm guessing you guys finally burned the bastard?"

"Yeah, you ok, you sound rough." He almost barked out a laugh at her remark, but hung up instead. That was for running to damn slow.

Theo stood up on shaky lets and crossed over to Amanda when he felt something under his shoe. It was the rope necklace, the one around the soldiers neck. That was strange, Theo shook the theories flooding his head and focused on the women in front of him, trying to calm her down. He still pocketed the necklace.

They all collected in the front of the house, Amanda swearing to never tell a soul as Daisy told her the truth of their identities.

"So then, what are their names," She pointed to Savannah and Theo, "them."

Noticing her motion towards him, Theo walked towards them, "My name is Theodore Demitrious Koulnalakis," he winked at her, his slightly overgrown hair falling in his face, "Very Greek, no? I've got two more middle names if you want them." Eric laughed at Theo's customary introduction, before Elijah jammed an elbow into his side, motioning for him to focus on diminishing up with preparing the car for their departure.

"The girl over there is Savannah Martin, we're so sorry for all the problems you've had Mrs. Amanda, as well as for your loss." Daisy bowed her head slightly, and Amanda gave her a strained smile. Now that Marc was gone, she planned to move back to California, maybe work for her old elementary school. Whatever she did, she was done with small towns like this.

"Look, I just want to thank you guys so much again," She sighed, and pulled something out of her pocket, "Here, I know that you guys said you don't get paid for what you do, but it can't be easy on the road without any money." Daisy took the slip, the check, and tried not to stare at the number. Marc had apparently left quiet a hefty life insurance policy for Amanda, but she had no children to use it on, and she herself wasn't a big spender. No reason for the money to go to waste.

The Mustang pulled out of the town, back onto the highway. Daisy and Eric argued over the possibility of Unicorns. A silly, but actually interesting topic considering the things they've seen. Elijah never admitted it, but he sided with Daisy, maybe there were some running around somewhere. Savannah was asleep in the passenger seat, and Theo was typing away, adding information to his virtual supernatural encyclopedia.

Daisy paused her argument to answer her phone, turning slightly towards the window.

"Maly?"

"Where are you Daisy?" The voice came through the line left no room for hesitation.

"We're just leaving New Mexico, towards North Texas." There was a slight pause. Daisy waited patiently. This was the werewolf hunter she'd met a few years ago when she first became a hunter, taught her everything she knew about Werewolves.

"We?"

"I'm with friends. Hunter friends." She quickly answered, noticing the occupants of the car were quietly watching her, even Elijah was gazing at her though the rearview mirror.

"Ok," The voice seemed to contemplate something, "How fast can you get to Wallis?"

"Um, one moment please," Daisy opened her mouth, but Savannah was already googling the location. Not knowing whether to feel grateful or embarrassed, Daisy could feel the impatience radiating off the girl on the other line.

"Six hours, turn onto that highway, going towards I35," She instructed Elijah, who said nothing as he made the turn, speeding up to beat a truck.

"Six hours, give or take, why?" Daisy would feel bad if they went there for no reason. Even though they were traveling without any direction for now, she didn't want to waste their time. Usually, He would have texted them by now with the next coordinates. Actually Daisy didn't know why they didn't continue onto their original coordinates in the first place. Planch, New Mexico was an detour.

"A pack of pureblood werewolves have moved in, a large one. More than I've ever seen before." This, Daisy realized, was an unofficial call for help. Maly managed Werewolf packs all in the south, keeping them in their place whenever they got out of control. She never called Daisy, ever. And she worked alone. If was making this call and ordering Daisy to Wallis, there must be a real problem.

"Guys," Daisy hesitated slightly as she lowed the phone slightly, "There is a werewolf problem in Wallis, Texas. Another hunter needs our help."

Elijah groaned, werewolves were an expensive bunch to kill. Silver bullets were not cheap, and it usually took more than one to kill one of the bastards, but even he wouldn't leave a fellow hunter in trouble like that. It was an unspoken rule, if you were needed, you went.

"There better be a problem," he growled out, their current path would hit Wallis, he just had to get on I35 and it would be a straight shot.

"We're on our way Maly," Daisy paused, "Are you ok?"

Maly sighed, "Yeah, I'm fine, just hurry up," She snapped her phone shut before glancing at the girl with the thick black hair in front of her, "Opal, they're coming."

"They?" A girl downed her third shot, squeezing her green eyes shut before humming in pleasure.

"She's with others, it doesn't matter. The more the better," Running fingers though her black hair, Maly lazily stared at her current ally. "I just hope they get here fast though, tonight's a full moon."

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**How do you feel about the ****development? **


	4. Taco Run

Daisy fidgeted nervously, standing like a wooden gate between two great armies. She wasn't crumbling, far from it, she was waiting to see who would go first, and she couldn't help but relate them to mythological creatures. On her right stood Malyganya Ortega; proud and strong like an ancient Hindu Naga. Her dark brown eyes swept carefully over the individuals in front of her, black hair braided immaculately hanging over her shoulder. Opal stood next to Maly, thick black hair flaring over her shoulders, dark green eyes a shocking exotic contrast to her otherwise typical Latina appearance, her lips curled into a playful smirk when she make eye contact with Elijah, taunting him like a land dwelling siren.

To Daisy's left stood, Eric, smiling sheepishly and resisting the urge to jump straight into introductions. He reminded her of a young leprechaun, with mischief and curiosity drifting in his eyes. Next to him, Savannah pulled a stray curly lock out of her face, a habitual tick that signaled she was get an understanding of the current events, and much like a child of the Warrior Goddess, Oya , adapt in whatever way she could. With no shame, Elijah allowed his eyes to gaze over the body of Opal, but Daisy could think of no better way to see him than as the Ziz from Jewish mythology. He was just big and bad, and could drop a bomb at any moment. And Theo…

Pulling herself forcefully from her musing, Daisy stood up a little straighter. "This is the hunter I was talking to on the phone earlier, Malyganya Ortega, and her partner Opal Nouveau."

Maly shifted her weight slightly to her left, "Forgive my bluntness, but we don't have time for introductions at the moment." Her eyes darted to Elijah, "Return to your vehicle and follow us back to our residence, we'll fill you in there." She turned away; braid snapping like a whip as she slipped back into her car. Elijah glared at her back, but resisted the urge to snap at her since she wouldn't hear him anyway.

Opal shrugged, before winking as she walked away, "Keep up, Maly likes to go fast."

The residence wasn't isolated, in fact, it was in plain sight. Cars cruised down the road at 20mph in the residential community as the streetlights clicked on and children scrambled back home. Birds hopped along the front yard of the two story home, and crickets lowered their music as the temperature dropped. Opal locked the door behind her, lazily kicking off her shoes as everyone gravitated towards the kitchen. Daisy pulled out ceramic cups, knowing where everything was as memories of this little home flooded her. Filling them with water from the sink, Daisy set about giving one to everyone as Maly began her lecture, pulling out a thick brown leather book and carefully placing it on the counter.

"Texas has always had a werewolf problem, but my family has been able to keep the casualties to a minimal." Maly started, flipping though the pages until she came to one with a basic black bookmark. "However, this clan is new." There were pictures piled in the page; a man with pale blond hair, a woman with snake piercings, and many others. "I've been able to identify some of the members, but I've come to realize that there are too many for me to realistically count."

"The problem with a pack that big in a place like this is their feedings are large enough to become noticeable to the human population," Opal sat on the sink counter, legs crossed.

"You have an idea of roughly how many we're dealing with?" Leaning over Maly, Savannah looked at the numerous pictures, notes, and newspaper clippings gathered by the duo. They obviously had kept tabs on this pack for a while. Although she wasn't surprised. From what Daisy told them on the ride here, Maly and Opal hunted werewolves exclusively, although they did have to tangle with a few vampires here and there.

"Well, we've only been able to count thirty, but they're all omegas of the pack, and last week we spotted the Beta female." Maly separated one picture from the pile. The women was bulky, with cropped brown hair, and sharp brown eyes.

"You mean all that ranking shit in the movies is real? I always thought that they traveled alone." Elijah rubbed the back of his head, neck still stiff from the long drive. He hated werewolves almost as much as he hated vampires, they were persistent, and you couldn't always tell them from normal humans at first glance.

"They've been evolving, for lack of better words," Opal hopped down from the counter and stalked closer to the table, her heels clicking with each step. "For the most part, they tend to stay in small packs of ten to fifteen, but lately the number of wolves in each pack is growing as packs merge together."

"Why?" Opal glanced at Savannah and shrugged.

"Protection is the most likely cause," Theo hummed, staring at the ceiling. Maly's stone gaze shifted to him, looking at the skinniest male in Daisy's little group. She didn't know what Daisy was doing with these people, they didn't appear to be the type that Daisy would make friends with. Actually, from what she observed, there didn't seem to be a real friendship among the group. Perhaps between Eric and Daisy there was a slight bond, but there was an understood peace between the others.

Theo kept to himself, off to the side of everyone else, always on his computer. Eric was friendly and charismatic, but his demeanor hid an old anger. Savannah seemed to be professional, if not a little unsure at times. In fact, she had the air of inexperience, at least when compared to the other hunters in the room, but she also seemed to be the closest thing to a leader. However, she had little power of the storm that was Elijah. He was arrogant in his abilities, and had little patience. No these were not the type of people Daisy would be with by choice; she was too innocent and optimistic.

"Protection?" Maly prompted him to continue, thinking she was understanding what he was getting at. Theo nodded, unzipping his jacket.

"Well, it's just a theory, but if what you said is true, then I'm going to guess that you or your family have hunted some packs into extinction in the past correct?" Maly nodded, "Then that explains it. Werewolves are pack animals due to their need for socialization and protection. Its easier to hunt food and protect themselves and their young with more individuals around, therefore, when the current pack system isn't doing its job of protecting the members, then is only fair to guess that they stood more of a chance with larger numbers."

"Well, aren't you the smart one," Opal purred, smiling as his eyes widened and his cheeks tinted pink, "I've always loved a smart man." Theo's face burst into color as his eyes darted to the floor.

"That's understandable," Maly shot Opal a warning look, which the girl scoffed at. The room dimmed as the last bit of sunlight fell behind the horizon, and Daisy flicked on the lights. "However, that doesn't change what we have to do."

"Do? Are you just going to go in, guns blazing and kill them?" Eric yawned; he honestly was tired of all the doom and gloom in the room. Everyone was so serious, and Maly was kind of creepy. Like killer clown creepy in a haunted forest creepy.

"No, I plan on getting in and simply exterminated the Alpha male, Alpha female, and their second in commands." Maly snipped out.

"You're trying to cause disarray in the hierarchy?" It was a good idea, Theo summarized. Werewolves were prideful beings, and would fight for command, leading to the death of some members, and a split in the survivors.

"But you could do that by yourself, Maly." Daisy pipped up from her end of the table, red hair dull in the artificial lighting, "Why did you need us if you were just going to kill five of them?"

"I didn't want them, only you." Maly bluntly stated, ignoring the mocking hurt expression of Elijah's face. "We needed someone else, to help us distract the pack while I went in and handles the higher ups."

"You were going to take on a pack of werewolves, not knowing how many there are with only three people?" Disbelief dripped out of Savannah's lips, and Elijah resisted the strong urge to laugh. Damn that was a stupid plan! But Elijah acknowledged that Maly didn't seem like the type of person to care about everyone making it out alive.

"Of course not, idiot." Maly rolled her eyes, "There are other hunters, two from Boston that I had planned on calling. But when Daisy told me she was with you, well, I decided there was no reason to waste a favor."

Night fell as plans were created and rejected in a lazy cycle before everyone returned to their beds. It was a short night, all nights in the summer of Texas were, and the heat crept into their beds, making sweat roll down their necks and backs. Savannah groaned the next morning as she blinked her eyes open. Untangling her hair and washing her face, Savannah glanced at her phone. Two notifications, but she deleted one upon seeing the name. Her finger hovered over the icon as she debated opening the second message. She rarely received text from him, usually he contacted either Theo or Eric; in fact, the last time he sent her anything was the Mustang's license plate number, so she could find Elijah. That was months ago, before she had met anyone, or fully understood what she was taking on as a hunter.

Trying to ignore the movement of her roommate, Daisy squeezed her eyes shut, trying to capture the wisp of color from her dream. Her bed was so soft. There was a slight thud, and she instantly gave up on trying to drift back in bed. Groaning, Daisy rolled over and fiddled for her phone, squinting at the brightness of the screen. 7:42 in the morning, way to early for her taste, but she pushed herself up, stretching lightly. Her eyes drifted back to Savannah, who was hazy eyed as she made the bed, deep in thought.

"Good morning, Savannah." Dasiy knew how brutal thinking could be if let at it for to long, and didn't want to leave the girl to stew in her mind, "Are you hungry, I was thinking about going out and getting breakfast Tacos from Marijose, wanna come?"

Daisy swung her feet to the floor, ignoring the cool sting of the wood on her bare toes as she walked into the adjacent bathroom. Her hair wasn't too bad, a little frizzy, but still straight from yesterday's hour long session with the flat iron. Savannah wiggled into her jeans, throwing her phone back onto her bed. "Was that the little Mexican joint we passed on the way in?"

"Yeah, we can take one of Maly's trucks, she doesn't mind as long as we don't take any of the motorcycles." Daisy paused to gargle some mouthwash, "They have really good pancakes there too."

Savannah raised an eyebrow, "I keep forgetting that you're familiar with this area."

"Well, its changed a bit from the last time I was here, but it's basically the same. I told you this is were I spent a few months learning about hunting right?"

"Yeah you told me, Maly taught you, and Opal helped every now and then."

"Kind of," The girls exited their room, quietly passing the rooms of the others as they descended the stairs. Elijah laid sprawled out on the couch in the living room, arm thrown over his eyes in an attempt to block the sun glittering in from the window. Eric was stretched out on the floor, blankets used as a temporary mattress, and he was snoring slightly. Curled up on the single seat, Theo's breathing remained uninterrupted as Daisy grabbed a set of key's off the hook.

"You see, Maly travels a lot," Savanna slipped into the passenger seat, as Daisy started the engine of the truck, pulling out of the garage. "so I was stuck at home with Opal often. She was the one who really taught me about werewolves, sometimes she would throw in stuff about vampires, but it was mostly werewolves. Whenever Maly was home she focused more on actually weapon training with me, hands on kind of stuff."

"So she actually took you werewolf hunting?" Savannah opted to stare out the window, watching as the neighborhood began to come out from its night time haze.

"Yep, it was scary at first, but I got used to it real fast." Daisy almost sounded proud of herself, stopping slowly at a red light while a morning jogger crossed the street. " I always wondered how good I could have been if I just focused on werewolves instead of trying my hand at everything."

"Well at least you got to experience things you know, instead of sticking to the same niche." Savannah didn't move when Daisy parked the car in the lot of the restaurant. It was a homely little place, your typical family owned hole in the wall. The walls were a light tan with layered shingle roofing, the typical Texas style. "How do you know these guys anyway, I always thought you went solo, before he contacted you.

"Well I just kind of ran into them really. You know how I found out because my brother was dating a shifter? Well after the hunter who killed her left, I kept reading stuff on my own, and somehow I ended up in Texas, was hit on by a werewolf, and next thing I knew two Latina girls had pulled me into their world." Daisy felt nice telling Savannah this, even though they shared a room at every stop, they never really had any deep conversations about their past. Everything was focused on finding It and figuring out who he was, the group never really had time to bond.

"A werewolf hit on you?" Savannah asked, a tinge of laughter in her voice. Smiling brightly, Daisy giggled, it did seem silly when said out loud.

"Well not the hit on me kind of hit on me, but more like the hit on me and then leer me to the woods, kind of hit on me."

"Oh my god, you went with him didn't you?" Savannah laughed, being able to imagine Daisy excitably talking to an obviously wolfish looking man.

In a weak attempt to defend herself, Daisy tried to stop her laugh but failed miserably, "I was curious!"

"So then you knew he was a werewolf and you still went with him?"

"He said he'd show me his fangs! His fangs, Savannah!"

"So he could eat you!"

The girls made eye contact and burst into full out giggles, and Daisy recounted the tale of how she was rescued by Maly and Opal, their frustrating attempts of trying to get rid of her before giving up and just taking her in, and Opal's eccentric personality. Dasiy felt so relaxed, and she shifted in her seat, removing her seatbelt to face Savannah.

"Ok, so how did you get into hunting?" Daisy noticed Savannah roll her eyes, and pushed forward, "Come on, I told you! I know you're from a big city so I doubt you ran into a pack of werewolves or vampires. Was it a ghost, or a evil clown."

"What is up with you and Eric and these evil clowns?" Savannah chuckled, noticing Daisy's unwavering stare, Savannah knew the girl wasn't going to back down. "Well, I never really found out, everything is still so new to me."

"So you just found out?" Daisy blinked, she thought Savannah was a seasoned hunter like Eric or Elijah. "How long ago."

"About five months ago while I was teaching English in Nigeria, I ran into this thing, the locals call it an Abze, its sort of like a vampire." Savannah's smile dropped and she took a deep breath, "It got so close to killing me, but then, this women showed up and it freaked out and ran. Then, boom, just like that she was gone. Then I came back to the states and got a text from, you know, him, and that's how it all started."

"Then that mean's you've never really had any training or anything." Daisy's eyes went wide, "You just got a text and went with it?"

"Nah, girl, my dad was military. He taught me how to shoot and all that, and honestly shooting ghost isn't much different. Most of the stuff I need to know I can find in books, so its not like I'm stupid. I just get surprised a bit more often than you guys, for example, I had no idea that werewolves were real until you told us in the car."

"Wow," Daisy had no idea what else to say, so they changed the subject as they walked inside and ordered food to go for everyone. The drive back was going fast, and Daisy slowed down to pull into the driveway.

Eric burst out of the house, clothes a mess and eyes wild as he jumped in the back seat, Opal on his heels. "Get in here now!" he yelled, and the girls forgot their bounty as Daisy parked on the side of the street before they sprinted inside. The place was a mess. The table was turned upside down, one of the lights was busted, and Theo sat, shaken on the couch. In the middle of the living room, Maly held a thick silver link chain, staring at her catch with mild interest and annoyance.

"They know where we are." Opal growled out, staring at the women on the ground who barred her sharp fangs at her. The women's dark blue hair was messy, half pulled forcefully from her bun. A werewolf. "I don't think they know that there are more than just the two of us in the house though, they only sent three for us."

"Where are the other two," Daisy could only stare at the werewolf. In all the time she'd been in this home, the werewolves never dared set foot on the property, they were to afraid of Maly and Opal, but for some reason these ones did. They felt confident enough in their abilities to not only attack, but do it in broad daylight.

"Dead, did you know your friend Elijah sleeps with a gun?" Maly questioned, yanking harder on the chain as the women tried to move, causing the women's skin to burn where her wrist were bound together.

"Yes," Daisy answered at the same time as Savannah and Eric, "What's wrong with Theo."

"They just spooked him I think," Opal yawned, not really caring one way or another. "But what's important is that we can't stay here anymore, when the others don't return they mind send more."

"They will send more," Maly insisted, and she looked Daisy right in the eye, "Be on guard, because we're staying."

* * *

**I'm sorry this is late, I just don't feel happy with it. Please Review and leave a comment!**


	5. Of Wolves and Art Students

Vibrations shook the mansion as the music was spun louder. Body's jumped, and swayed, and shook as the individuals allowed the rhythm to consume their minds, letting it control their bodies like puppets on strings. LED lights and candles lit up the backyard, and balloons filled with glowing balls were scattered around the pool, making the water glow with a psychedelic hue.

In the Jacuzzi, a man sat, the orange glass cup brushed against his goatee as he took a sip of his drink. The people around him laughed loudly, feeding off the intoxicating atmosphere around them. Putting the drink down, Leon scanned his party with a smirk on his face. He was the king, and everything he did was successful. There wasn't a single person who wasn't enjoying themselves tonight. Well, almost. Resisting the urge to let his frustration show on his face when he didn't notice a particular person among the flood of his followers, he knocked the rest of the drink back, feeling it all slide down his throat.

"Ay, Leon, we got word back about Cassia and her team." Leon didn't notice the man who came and whispered in his ear, but frowned and stood up.

"Sorry boys, but seems I've got business to attend to," he flashed one of the more attractive girls a smirk, almost smiling when she blushed a deep red, "Be a doll and keep an eye on things for me?"

Hoisting himself out of the water, Leon shook out his hair, not bothering to dry off as he followed the man into the mansion. His feet made a squishy noise with each step on the marble tile, it was a good thing he limited tonight's activities to the backyard, or he'd have to make someone clean up the mess inside too. At the end of the brightly lit hall, two men, bulky and tall, stood at attention in front of a grand wood door. Bowing when they saw Leon, the door was opened and the man stepped right in, but Leon paused, laying a hand on the shoulder of the guard on his left.

"Find Avid and bring him to me, now." Continuing forward, Leon heard the man scurry to do what he was told, and let out a chuckle from deep in his stomach. He loved watching people fall over themselves to please him; it was rather amusing in comparison of how he was treated as an Omega.

"So," Leon jumped in a leather chain behind an antique desk, the man not moving to sit down. The room was spacious enough, decorated with creams and browns, it was boring really, but Leon had never gotten around to changing it. There was a picture of the past owner on the wall, graffiti of vulgar words and drawings taking away from the majesty of the piece. "What happened, Zeke?"

The man, Zeke, frowned at his leader's nonchalant attitude, "Cassie and her second in command have been killed, but the other member of her team, Jackie, was captured by the Hunters." Zeke felt a bit of relief when he noticed the increased interest in Leon's brown eyes, so he continued, "It seems that there were more than we thought. Five more actually."

Well that was unexpected; Leon pinched the bridge between his nose as he felt a headache come on. He had planned to spend tonight drinking and laughing, and having a good time, but these damn Hunters had to go and ruin that. It was Zeke's fault too, could this seriously not have waited until the next day? Its not like ruining his night was going to bring Casandra, or whatever the hell her name was, and her team back. Still, he could hear the nagging in the back of his head whispering that he should stop moping and take this seriously. After all, one of his pack members were captured by Hunters, presumably the same hunters that have been whipping out packs in this area for decades. A sting of bitterness hit him, and serious Leon, the Alpha of the largest werewolf pack in the world, came out to play.

"Where did these other five come from?" Leon questioned, he was sure there was only two before. Droplets of water trickled down from the tips of his hair, running down his back and onto his shoulder before splattering on the leather chair.

"The others drove in yesterday, at least that's what we think. What do you want to do about it?" Zeke remained still as Leon crossed his arms over his bare chest and frowned, deep in thought, a simple necklace laying flat on his skin. He liked his Alpha much more when he was like this, serious and calculating, rather than the mischievous charisma he displayed outside.

"For now" Leon ran his fingers though dark reddish brown hair ",nothing." Zeke's eyes widened, before his lips curled back and he slammed his hands on the table, Leon gazing coldly at him.

"Nothing!" Zeke echoed, growling, "Are you insane, they have one of your own locked up! You can't just leave her, you bastard." There was a burst of noise and Zeke felt the air leave him, fingers tightening around his neck and his back hit the floor with immense force. His fangs extended as his nails grew, digging into the hand that pinned him to the floor and stopped him from getting air. His alpha's eyes seemed to glow yellow as he stared down at him calmly, watching him suffer with frustration.

"You must be the insane one, my friend," Leon wasn't worried about killing him as he pressed down harder on Zeke's windpipe, after all, they couldn't be killed by oxygen deprivation, it was just very painful, "for trying to order me around." Releasing him, Leon was up and staring out the window before Zeke could take in his first breath. Gazing down at the party, Leon watched as a thinner guy stumbled about, obviously drunk, before bumping into a female and accidently knocking her into the pool. It was chaotic.

Zeke struggled to his knees, keeping his eyes on the floor. He didn't want to do anything that made Leon think he was challenging his authority, or Leon just might thrash him. He got off easy, considering the things Leon did to the people who challenged him when he first became Alpha, whether they did it intentionally or not. Zeke's Alpha was a dangerous being, exciting and charismatic to the public, but could become a ruthless and wild brute in the blink of an eye. There was a steady knock on the door, before it was pushed open.

A man, younger than the other two in the room, stepped inside, curiosity and worry creeping into is dark grey eyes.

"You sent for me, brother?" Avid questioned, staring directly at the Alpha. Leon turned sharply, a devious smirk decorating his face as he returned to his chair, kicking his legs onto the desk.

"Don't look at me like that, Avid, I don't want anything, honest. Is it wrong for me to see my runt of a little brother after he abandon me at the gathering tonight?" Leon mocked his younger brother, ignoring Zeke completely as he didn't move from his position. However, Avid wasn't so easily rattled, and only sighed when he saw the fading finger marks on Zeke's neck. His big brother was such a savage.

"Zeke, please return to the party. This obviously is going to be a private matter." Avid wanted to roll his eyes, as Zeke hesitantly looked to Leon for permission, before standing up as he was waved away. He backed up slowly towards the door, clicking it shut softly behind him. There a few moments of almost silence, the music from outside leaking into the room, before Leon let out a exaggerated groan.

"Where were you tonight, you promised to come to the party!" Leon was in front of Avid in a second, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at the smaller male disapprovingly. As his Beta, Avid was supposed to be just as involved with the pack as he was. That included interacting with them.

"You say that like we don't have one every night, and I've already told you how I hate all the drinking but I was there." Avid knew he was border-line whining as he stepped passed his brother. Doing what only he could do, Avid sat down in the leather chair, curling up as Leon watched him with amusement.

"As believable as you are, dear brother, your antisocial tendencies are not why I invited you here." Leon felt a bit uncomfortable asking this of his brother. Ever since they were young, Leon thrived in his position as the older brother, protecting and providing for Avid. If it was his choice, Avid would never leave the safety of the mansion, and he doubted Avid would care either, all the kid did was sit in his room and read anyway. But he couldn't keep Avid locked away forever; he needed to let him get experience. "We have a bit of a problem with the Hunters."

"The Hunters? I thought Cassie, Jackie, and Erica went to take care them." Avid paused, agony falling over his face, strands of his long black hair falling from his ponytail, "They were killed weren't they?"

"Everyone but Jackie apparently, they've taken her hostage." Leon let out a sigh, "I need you to go into town, get a couple of kids for me." Immediately knowing where this was going, Avid felt his throat get dry. They were werewolves, but they did have some kind of moral code. Kids were off limits, teens were all right, adults were best, and the elderly were irrelevant. Those were international werewolf rules, to make sure they didn't attract the attention of Hunters to the pack. But Leon wanted their attention didn't he? Leon saw his brother's inner conflict and attempted to put him at ease, "I'm not gonna kill them, just lock them in a room until the trade. Promise."

Sighing in defeat, Avid nodded before feeling his stomach let out an embarrassingly loud growl. Leon smirked, "Hungry?" Ignoring the pout on Avid's face, he moved to pull out a pair of clothes from one of the drawers, he told Zeke that they would come in handy one day. Pulling on his clothing, he motioned for his brother to follow him, it's been a long time since they last hunted together.

Opal pressed herself flat on the ground, bushes brushing against her olive skin under the light of the moon and stars. It seems the information she was able to squeeze from the werewolf was legit. Bass shook the ground even from where she was. This was one of the newer neighborhoods in the area, mansions perched on huge lots of expensive land. Lucky for her, it seems that the people that lived across the street from pack preferred hedges to fences when it came to privacy and protection.

Opal tensed as the gate buzzed open, the wheels of a red convertible screeched as the driver took a sharp left, black skid marks visible as he sped down the road. Once the gate closed, Opal picked herself up from the dirt, brushing herself off before strutting over to her car, trying not to look nervous at all. If she panicked, they might see her, so hiding in plain sight was her bet as she slipped into her truck, and pulled off down the road in the opposite direction of the red convertible.

Within twenty minutes, she was slipping her key into the lock and pushing the door open, the sound of the television drifting in from the living room. Eric, Theo, and Daisy sat on the couch, giggling at the movies embarrassing version of a poltergeist in Paranormal Activity. Savannah and Maly were in the kitchen, talking in hushed tones while they poured over the numerous maps, stats, and pictures, still trying to come up with a plan of action. There was a loud click as Elijah dismantled one of his guns, scrubbing out any possible debris and looking for any signs of damage while he sat on the floor. Daisy and Eric gave her a wave, before turning back to the movie.

Her home had never been this full, in fact, it was kind of stressful to be around so many people with so little privacy. That's why she decided to bear the extra risk, and go alone tonight, just to get a little private time. Pulling a cork off a pre-opened jug of wine, she took a swig straight from the cup, loving the sweet taste on her tongue as she joined Maly and Savannah. Nodding at the chorus of greeting, she slapped her finger dramatically on the location of the mansion.

"That's the house," She took another swig, "And you know how we said there's going to be a lot of the bastards, we were right. There was a full on party going on in there, something out of a wild college movie. I counted sixty different ones that were either pulling into the gate, or pulling out."

"Ok," Savannah make a thick red circle around the mansion with a sharpie, her body casting a dark shadow on the map. "Did you see the Alphas or the Betas?" Savannah prayed that she did. The plan was put onto a full on halt until they could identify at least the Alphas, but Opal only scoffed.

"The only thing I found out is that the girl we thought was the Beta, yeah, that's not her. She's just one of the stronger females, but I saw her standing guard at one point near the gate, that's Omega shit." Opal watched Maly resist the urge to flip the table, and understood her pain. Now they had no idea who any of the head pack members were. "Want me to go ask the mutt?"

"Yeah," Maly sunk into her chair, scratching out notes to get rid of obsolete information, and Opal flashed them a smile. Taking the glass bottle with her, Opal nearly skipped up the stairs, pulling on a string that opened the attic door and climbing up the latter. The air was a bit stale, and her feet creaked on the wood as she stepped onto the solid floor. The girl, Jackie, sat with her legs and arms tied together in the front, thick gloves on her hands to prevent her from using her claws, and a steel muzzle to keep her from making noise.

Flashing her a smile, Opal sat criss cross in front of the girl, leaning over to pull a medium sized toolbox from the shadows, the objects inside clinking together. "Hey, girl!" Jackie said nothing as the muzzle was removed from her face, watching Opal with defiant fear in her eyes. "I just came up here to thank you for all your help yesterday." Again there was silence, and Opal sighed, "What you're gonna give me the cold shoulder? I just wanted to get to know you a bit more."

"Go to hell," Jackie growled out, her body tensing as her lips curled back, exposing her off white fangs. Opal nodded, as if taking the curse into consideration.

"See, I'd love to do that and all, but I have to work in the morning. You see, when I'm not doing the world a favor by killing freaks like you, I teach dance down at the Art Academy on Henderson. Maybe you've seen it?" Opal waved her hand in front of her face, "Anyway, enough about me, even though I am wonderful, I'd much rather talk about you're Alpha, what's their name again?"

"As if I'll tell," Jackie turned slightly away from Opal, scoffing, "Besides, I already betrayed him once, I won't do it again." Jackie felt the thick silence in the room as Opal clicked open her tool box. No, Jackie forced herself to concentrate; for her heart to stop beating so loudly. She couldn't be a coward; not this time. Shame and guilt still sat heavily in her gut when she thought about how easily she gave them the location of the pack's den. The lives of all its members were threatened, and if anyone was killed, their blood was on her hands. Opal waited patiently while Jackie tortured herself, testing the weight of the cool silver rod in her hand. It was no longer than her arm, the other half was still in the box.

Maly had many weapons made of silver, so she didn't have to rely on guns, and this was one half of a Bo staff. It was close enough so that Opal would be in Jackie's personal space, but far enough away to stay out of reach of her fangs. Being bitten was not something Opal wanted to happen today, or ever. Stepping forward without warning, Opal pressed the cool metal to Jackie's shoulder. The girl yelped, the smell of melting skin dominating her senses as her muscles and bones tried to escape the unbearable burning sensation. It hurt so much, she couldn't think of anything other than dying. Death would be a petrifyingly sweet release from this fire that boiled her skin. Biting her lip, Jackie felt tears stream down her face, but didn't make a sound as her teeth punctured her lip. Thin globs of blood dribbled down her chin.

"You know what I realized," Opal lifted the rod, watching the girl take shaky breaths with feigned innocence, "Most of the werewolves at the mansion were around my age, there were a few here and there that were a couple years younger, but I didn't see anyone who looked older than thirty. I know you guys age slowly, but come on, where are all the adults?" Surly adult werewolves wouldn't allow them to do things that might cause unwanted attention; things like throwing wild house parties.

This kind of information was harmless right, Jackie convinced herself, anything to delay the onslaught of fire from that metal cylinder. "There are no adults in this pack, I swear, everyone is roughly between 16 and 27 in human years."

Opal opened her mouth for a follow up question, until Elijah's head popped up from the entrance, "Get down here, Savannah's been bitching about something, and Maly needs you."

Jackie was left alone for the rest of the night, staring at the ceiling. She had heard no calls from her pack since her capture. The night of she could smell two of them, but they left and never came back. Had her pack abandon her, or did they think she was dead like the others? Either way, she felt utterly helpless as she drifted into sleep, her stomach growling loudly.

The sun broke over the horizon and Opal headed for the Art Academy while Elijah, Theo, and Eric worked on discretely getting further information about the pack from the civilians. Maly opted to stay at the house and keep an eye on the prisoner, while Daisy and Savannah went to do surveillance. Maly enjoyed the silence, only going up to see the dog once in order to feed her chunks of meat so she didn't starve. The day passed quickly, the sun hid behind thick grey clouds as water skydived in large droplets, splashing to the ground. Birds fluttered their wings under trees in an attempt to shake off a little water, and the door flung open as the boys tripped over themselves to get out of the lukewarm rain. Elijah shook his head, sliding his soaked shirt over his head and throwing it haphazardly on his belongings.

Sirens wailed as they flew passed the house, before Opal burst into the house, ringing out her hair on the floor.

"What's going on out there?" Eric wondered out loud, staring into the fridge. Theo returned immediately to his computer, taking out the funny single bead necklace and rolling it between his thumb and pointer finger before typing away.

"Four students were absent from school today," Opal muttered, eyes narrowed, "We called their parents to see if they were sick, but all the parents said that they headed out for school like usual. Since they're minors, the schools reported them truant, and since its now three hours since schools been out and no one has seen them, the sheriff has ordered a search."

"Toss me a soda, Eric," Elijah caught the can with minimal effort, cracking open the top as the liquid inside popped happily, "So a couple of kids played hooky, they never sent squad cars to look for me."

"Maybe," Opal rolled her eyes, "But these kids were all great students. And from what one of my kids told me they all walked together in the morning, one of them was even in my Lyrical class, Alice Mayberry. She wasn't one of the best, but she tries hard, and hasn't missed a day as far as I can remember."

Opal felt uneasy when she called roll that morning and the little red head wasn't anywhere to be seen. Alice was a sweet girl, always doing what she was told and smiling when she swayed to the words of the song. The girl wasn't a troublemaker, and Opal met the parents at a parent teacher conference at the beginning of the summer. The family seemed to have a good relationship, so Opal doubted the girl ran away. Biting her lip, Opal shut out the murmuring of the others and the noisy chatter of the television. Damn it, the girl was only nine years old, something terrible could have happened to her.

The phone rang, and no one moved the answer it. Rolling her eyes at their lazy guest, Maly stood up and strided over to the phone, picking it up and leaning against the wall.

"Hello?"

"Malyganya Maria Ortega," the voice breathed, and Maly nearly dropped the phone as she looked at the caller ID, it was an unknown number. She pressed the phone back to her ear as he began to talk again. "That's a pretty name, but it's not Spanish is it?"

* * *

**Thank you for reading, and please read and review. **

**(A/N) A Must read for Character Creators. **

**Please don't think I'm review hungry, I created this story to test my ability to develop characters as well as create a realistic plot. If I'm not getting any feedback, then I don't know if I'm correctly conveying a character. ****I've come to realize that since some people have been reviewing constantly and giving me feedback, its only fair to award them by using their characters more frequently. I've also realized that this could be a very long story, or a very short one depending on the ending of this arc; so in an attempt to rule out chapters that won't advance the plot, I've decided to make some cuts. If an author is not reviewing and giving feedback, then I'll just remove the character from the story, and possibly replace them with side characters who's authors is reviewing. I think that's only fair, so if your character hasn't shown up yet and you haven't been reviewing, you might want to start because if not, I assume you aren't reading and therefore no longer care for the story. **

**Also if you guys could tell me how you feel or think about maybe two or three characters, not your own, that would be really helpful.**

**See you Sunday.**


	6. An Analysis

"Who is this?" There were a limited number of people who knew Maly's full name, the majority of these people being in the house with her. They didn't find it in the yellow pages, because this house was listed under Opal's name. The noise from the fan seemed unusually loud, as a laugh track from the television mocked her.

The man chuckled, "You've been looking for me for months now, and you still don't know who I am, that hurts Malyganya." He was mocking her, mocking her inability to find him. It was the Alpha, there was no one else it could be. "Put me on speaker would you, doll? I'd love to talk to the whole gang."

"Now why would you want to do that?" Maly kept herself composed, after all, this was not the first time werewolves had gotten the jump on her, but she could come out of this on top. Maly just needed to stay in control.

"Fine, don't then. I'll just tell my boys that they can have their way with those brats that wondered into our territory, doesn't matter to me." Leon scoffed, knowing that the hunter wouldn't call his bluff. He knew how the hunters thought about them; that werewolves were wild, savage, and immoral beast. They were mostly right, but immoral werewolves are not. He also knew she wouldn't call him out on the kids coming into his territory. From what Avid said, the kids were part of some artsy summer school, and were on their way before Avid got them.

Maly glared harshly, before barking out for the others to be quiet and gather around the phone, before she pressed the speaker button, "Its on speaker now."

"Good girl," he purred, wishing he could see her face. Knowing it was wrong to play with his food, Leon got to business, leaning back in his chair, "You guys have been a real pain in my ass, you know that? Stalking us for weeks. It was cute at first, but now then you go and kill two of us and lock another up," Leon made a disappointed tsking noise, like he was scolding naughty puppies, "now I just can't have that, can I?"

"Is this the Alpha?" Daisy whispered, eyes widening in shock when the phone burst with laughter, Leon couldn't help it, but they really didn't know his name, did they? How pathetic. Why was he worried about them again?

"Yes, this is the Alpha." Leon chuckled, licking his lips, "But you guys can just call me Leon Stranger, Alpha is way too formal for my liking."

The Hunters didn't know how to react. They weren't prepared for this at all. Never had they heard of a pack being so bold as to reach out to Hunters and mess with the order of the hunt. Elijah suspected that they were getting confident. The werewolves must have known they had caught the hunters off guard, rattling them by knowing more information about them than they knew about him. It was an elementary tactic, more psychological warfare than anything. Man, this is why he hated werewolves so damn much, they were so persistent in everything they did. This was just a game to them, and they got the upper hand, now the Alpha, Leon, couldn't help but flaunt it.

"What the hell are you calling us for, you obviously don't just want to do introductions." Elijah snapped out, ignoring the sharp glare from Maly. Like hell he was just going to sit here and let this freak play with them.

"You're right, I didn't." Leon breathed out, frowning at the challenging tone, but calming himself, "I'm going to guess that the wonderful Ms. Opal Nouveau already told you about the missing students; Xavier Thomas, Arianna Phillips, Alice Mayberry, and Sean Myers. They're safe here with me, well, not right at this moment, but you get the idea."

"You're a fucking sicko for brining kids into this," Opal growled, her fingernails digging into the palms of her hands and she shook with rage, "If you're that much of a weak coward then I should just come over and kill you right now!"

"Opal!" Daisy grabbed onto the older girl, hoping to the highest heaven that they didn't offend the Alpha. If the kids really where in his den, then there was nothing to stop him from hurting them, the only thing keeping them safe was Leon's passing whim.

Savannah placed her hand over her mouth; everything was muted to her ears. This couldn't be happening. Were werewolves really this cruel; were most supernatural beings like this and she just never noticed before? Gazing at the people in the room, she could see varied levels of disgust, anger, and worry on their faces as she tried to understand what was going on in their minds. This Alpha, Leon Stranger, was insane. What would he demand for the safe return of the children to their families? Their surrender? Would they do it?

At that moment, Savannah fully understood how dark and twisted this world really was; how deeply she was caught in the web. There were times when being a hunter wasn't reality to her, where she could brush the constant traveling as another road trip or the gun shots as another drill the Nigerian's ran her through before she could teach in their school. Now she could see what it meant when she took up the tittle, Hunter. She was the wall between the abnormal and the innocent, the supernatural and the mortal. Blows would come from all sides, and she would bear them, taking each hit without falling. How stupid she was before. This was real, those kids were real, their worried families were real, this Alpha was real, his threat was real.

"I dare you, bitch!" Leon snapped, tired of their tone. It was instinctual to bulk up to anything that challenged his authority, and he had a hard time remembering that humans didn't think like he did. "You know where I am, come over and I'll fucking open the gate for you myself!"

"No!" Eric finally joined the conversation, "No, no look, man, she didn't mean that. Those kids were her students, you see, you've just hit a nerve. Look," snatching the phone up, Eric pressed it to his ear, turning off the speaker. He was the only calm one at the moment. Maly and Elijah looked angry beyond reason, Savannah stood shell shocked in the corner, Daisy was attempting to calm Opal. Theo was, well, he had no idea what was wrong with the brainiac but now was not the time. "tell me what you want, I'll listen, scout's honor."

"Hmm," Leon breathed deeply, eyes swooping over to observe his little brother who had fallen asleep on his bed. He must have eaten too much, Avid never falls asleep that fast, or during something this important. Leon had only agreed to make the call in his own room, rather than the office, because Avid insisted, saying he didn't want any disruptions at all. "you guys have one of my girls."

"Yeah, yeah, we do," Eric breathed, hope seizing him as he prayed this meant what he think it did.

"They want to make a trade don't they?" Theo guessed, his voice a little distant, but still aware enough to take in what little information they had. It fit he puzzle, after all, Theo stared as Eric run around to find pen and paper, scribbling down an address, why else would the Alpha do something that would place heat on his pack. By kidnapping these children, he had taken something that was equally as important to them as Jackie was to him. A weakling for a weakling. Obviously this Alpha felt that he had a better chance of coming out of this situation on top if he made them feel like they had more to lose, and what's more precious to Hunters than the lives of those they protect? Theo licked his lips, by taking children, they had taken the weakest of the weak, the most vulnerable and valued members of the human race.

"Ok, we'll be there." Eric clicked off the phone, feeling the intense gaze of six pairs of curious eyes. A car passed by the house, shadows extending as the light illuminated the room for a moment. For once, Eric realized, everyone was looking to him to plan the next move. Dang is this how Theo and Savannah felt all the time? He'd have to remember to buy them cake for all the stress; no wonder Savanna was getting bags under her eyes.

"Well?" Maly promted, fingers tapping impatiently on the table. The anger of losing control of the situation had gotten to her, and now she felt utterly disgusted with herself. Never did she allow her emotions to dominate her actions, but as she heard the Alpha's voice, teasing and arrogant as he dangled the lives of children over her head, her composure had snapped.

"He wants to make a trade," Eric admitted slowly, "but before he does that he wants to discuss the terms of the trade with two of us." Trying to keep his voice neutral, he glanced at Maly, "And he specifically asked for Maly."

"Terms?" Theo muttered, that was unexpected. "I guess getting the girl back isn't good enough for him, he wants something else. Maly, Opal," He turned to the two girls, eyes slightly red from being tired, "can you think of what it might be?"

"No clue," Opal admitted, crossing her legs and leaning back in her chair, Daisy's hand still resting on her shoulder. "But what does it matter, we've got to do what he says right? Unless, Theo, you've got some kind of plan under your sleeve. After all, we could be walking right into a trap, and I'd rather have a backup plan if something goes down."

"He wants to meet at the bar on Evans, tomorrow at nine thirty." Eric added, hoping that would be somewhat helpful.

"Ok," Theo rolled his neck, mind buzzing though possible scenarios. "Maly should go with Elijah, but here's how the rest of its going to work." Theo began explaining a rough version of his plan, hands moving wildly as he tried to convey his idea. Everyone listened intently, and even Maly could not help but admire his wit. After finalizing the events, everyone moved to retire for the night, the kitchen clock signalizing that midnight was over three hours ago. They were confident that they could end this tomorrow.

Elijah could feel the pressure, a large part of the plan depended on his shooting abilities, but grunted and turned on his side, forcing the thoughts from his mind as he tried to sleep. He wasn't nervous, not really. Although, he couldn't ignore that vicious voice that dominated the back of his head. It snaked to the front of his mind, hissing negative outcomes and flashing painful memories. He almost cringed at the gory memory of his father's body. It was all his fault, the voice taunted, getting louder. God, he needed a drink; but he couldn't, the voice giggled loudly, he couldn't afford to be less than perfect in any way tomorrow, or someone might die. Not that they wouldn't die anyway, its not like Elijah could save them.

Sitting up suddenly, Elijah clutched his head as a headache pulsed behind his eyes. Eric watched him silently from his place on the couch, not sure how to comfort a person who would lash out at anyone for the sake of his pride.

"Shut up," Elijah growled lowly, pressing the palms of his hands into his eyes, trying to ease the pressure.

"Yes dear," Eric almost slapped himself, he didn't mean to say that outloud. Elijah glared up at his, sliding his hands down his face. Realizing it was to late to pretend nothing happened, Eric pushed on. "Sorry, sorry. You alright man?"

"Oh, fuck you." Groaning, Elijah stood up and stumbled into the kitchen, running the sink water and turning it to the coldest setting. Splashing the water on his face was a welcome shock from the Texas heat.

"Well, aren't you a bundle of sunshine." Eric mumbles, bones protesting when he stood up and made his way over to Elijah, who ignored him as he began to drink directly from the facet. "You nervous or something?"

Realizing that he wouldn't get Eric to leave him alone without playing along, Elijah shook his head, "Nightmares is all." It wasn't a lie really, the bastard in his head was a little terror.

"You have nightmares?" Eric's voice got a pitch higher, signaling his amusement. With the way Elijah slept like the dead, he would have thought the bigger male didn't dream of anything other than guns, booze, and babes. "About what?"

It was agonizing to say out loud, but Elijah was slightly relieved he had someone to tell, "Usually its just a bunch of voices screaming at me, but lately they've been 'bout my dad's corpse."

Eric blinked, not expecting such an honest answer. He had always suspected that Elijah's parents weren't in the picture, whether from death or distance. The facet dripped with leftover droplets when Elijah turned the water off. "I usually just get eaten by cockroaches."

Staring at his crazy teammate, Elijah scoffed with a light smile. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Eric echoed in conformation, "Sometimes they've even got machetes."

The two made eye contact and laughed lightly, shaking their head at the absurd picture. Maybe Eric wasn't so bad, Elijah slipped back into his makeshift bed on the floor, he was still a dumbass, but maybe not as bad as he first thought.

First thing in the morning, Daisy sped over to the library with only a quick word to Eric, who only mumbled into his damp pillow. There wasn't a breeze to cool her face as she stepped out of the truck and into the Texas heat. Locking the door, Daisy felt upset by the lack of cars in the parking lot, but reassured herself that it was still early and many people might not be awake yet, much the less on their way to the old library. The air was a bit dusty as she stepped inside, childish artwork pinned up on a massive board gave the old place a bit of color. It must not have been renovated in years; Daisy made light conversation with the old librarian, listening to him rant about the lack of interest in hard books.

"All everyone wants in digital books now a days, Bah!" He scoffed, "Digital books, there's no history in digital books. Now listen here, girly, you see, when you open a book, a real book, you can feel its weight. Not the books weight, but he weight of the soul of the man who wrote it." He gave her a hard stare, leaning slightly on his left to ease the pressure building in his right ankle, "You can flip to the back and see all the people who opened it before you, the crack of the spine, the sweetly bitter smell. It's magic!"

After a few minutes of listening to his lecture, Daisy was directed to the mythology section. With everything that's been going on these past few days, her obsession with werewolves had reemerged like a cub after its first winter. She couldn't wait to dive in and see what she could find. Everyone had their own version of werewolves; the Argentinians believed the seventh son would transform into a half wolf, half man beast, people from Finland thought it was a curse placed by a witch, and the Russians required a dark ritual to allow a wolf spirit to take over the body. It was so wonderful, and to think that every single one of those stories are correct.

The sound of a creaking cart pulled her mind away from the fantasy, a young man was beginning to replace recently returned books. Blue eyes drifted back to the shelf, and Daisy carefully read each tittle, finger grazing over the spines. Frowning when she didn't find anything.

"Looking for something specific?" Daisy fully turned to face the young man, her hand dropping to her side. He had a curious aspect in his face, his lips in a soft line as he held two books loosely in his arms. If she had to guess, she would say he looked a little older than eighteen, but his stance told her he might be even older.

"Kind of," Daisy realized her staring was making him uncomfortable as he shifted his weight backwards, and offered him a smile, "Do you have anything on werewolves? Nonfiction."

He blinked, once, twice, before giving her an odd look. Nothing she wasn't used too, after all, she asked for weirder things before. Like when she was in Idaho and asked for a book on the theory of Alien intervention in early human history. Biting his lip, the man put away the books in his hands. "We do," he said slowly, "but the one's I've seen aren't in English. I think they're in Hungarian or something."

"Oh that's perfect!" Daisy clapped her hands, the loud noise popping though the silence of the sanctuary. Observing the further confusion on the males face, she clarified, "I speak Hungarian, read it too."

At this point he felt utterly confused, but dutifully led the ginger further down the isle, reaching up on one of the higher shelves and pulling down a rather pristine looking paperback before handing it over. Standing awkwardly, he waited as she flipped though the first few pages, a smile exploding over her face. "Yeah, this is exactly what I was looking for."

"Really now?" Tipping his head down, he motioned to the foreign book in her hands, "What is it? I don't speak Hungarian, and that books been here for years, but no one ever checks it out. Even the people who do understand the language."

"Its an analysis on the culture and habits of modern werewolves living in the West." Ever since books like Twilight and Blood and Chocolate popularized the species, werewolves have become the target of human affection. Now, there was literature being published that hypothetically explained how werewolves could possibly exist in the modern world, and if they did, how they would live. However, for Hunters like Daisy, many of these books were not hypothetical at all. Many of the authors themselves are past hunters, or at least aware of the species existence.

"An analysis," the young man drifted off, his face becoming dark for a moment before he regained his composure, "Do you think they're real? Like running around alive real?" Daisy eyed him wearily, noticing the change in his behavior. It was obvious the topic of the book struck a cord with him, in fact, despite his genuine nature; she could sense a lie on his tongue. There was silence as Daisy pulled the book closer to her chest, staring him directly in the eye. He didn't look away. It could have meant a thousand things; he was taught to look people in the eye when speaking to them, he didn't feel threatened by her, or he just didn't want to punk out because she was a girl.

"Yep," she said boldly, feeling the weight of her weapons in her purse. She was going to take a gamble; adrenaline ripping though her veins like starving ants, "I believe that they're everywhere. Even right here."

He wasn't stupid, he knew what she was insinuating. It would be so easy to lie to her, but he tossed the different outcomes of his actions around in his head. If he told the truth, she might be a Hunter, and therefore would attack him. There would be nothing to stop her, the old librarian was half delusional anyway, so no one would believe him, and no one came in till around noon. Then again, she might just be some type of fangirl looking to satisfy her weird fantasy. He'd met a few of those girls at parties before; pack members would indulge them, before ripping them to shreds with howls of laugher.

There was a hiss as silver touched his skin, fangs extending as he growled at the girl's bracelet that was expertly thrown at his exposed skin. She had taken up a stance, glaring like a soldier as she stared at her enemy. Damn it, he stood up straight, putting some distance between them, it was a good thing the old man never came back here.

"So, you know." He stated simply, standing proudly as he retracted his fangs. Glancing at his shoulder, he could see the skin slowly starting to heal as he sighed. "Before we start all this," he waved between them, "can I at least know you're name. I'm called Avid."

"Daisy," the girl stated, never breaking his gaze. There was a trick to fighting werewolves, as long as she kept her eyes on him, he wouldn't attack. The second she looked away, even if it as to swat at a fly, he would pounce. It would have been so much easier if Maly or Elijah were here, maybe they would stare him into submission.

Raising his hands in a peaceful gesture, Avid frowned. "Forgive me, but I don't want to fight here. Or at all really, so I'd be very happy to know that I could go back to work without the threat of you throwing more silver at me."

Not at all in a happy mood, Daisy pulled out her daggers, seeing the color flush from his face. Putting the book in her bag, Daisy felt slightly conflicted. He didn't seem to have any intention of harming her, but still, her hands tightened over the weapons, he could be trying to deceive her.

"Put the knives down, Daisy," Avid growled, feeling more and more cornered as time passed. Now Leon was never going to let him out of the house. They had fought for weeks over him getting this job, but now Leon was going to freak. "If you attack me, you won't be putting only your own life on the line. Let's just talk about this." He was serious; he would kill any witness, including the old man.

Freezing, Daisy felt her confidence waver, before standing up slightly straighter. With a sigh of anger, Avid dropped his hands to his sides, "If you can realize what I am so easily, you must be one of the Hunters." She nodded stiffly, licking her lips slightly. "There must be a way for us to work this out so we can both walk away with our lives in tact."

That was a surprise. She'd never read or experience a werewolf quiet like this one; who preferred words over blood. Although, this one was rather divergent in many ways, for one he was working, posing as a normal human being in this growing city. There was no savage quality to his behavior, and he seemed rather reasonable. In fact, if she hadn't had werewolves on the front of her mind, she may not have even realized his true nature.

"You're part of the mega pack who took the art children." Daisy stated with a dry voice. She needed confirmation; if he wasn't connected to his pack, then maybe he was a loner living among humans, therefore only a minimal threat. If he was however part of the pack, Avid would report back to the Alpha, Leon, which would further damage their element of surprise. After all, the werewolves only seemed to know of Opal's and Maly's identities, everyone else was invisible to them.

"I am," Feeling no reason to question her strange classification of his family, Avid nodded stiffly, allowing the silence to become awkward one again. "Their safe, no one has harmed them."

"You all harmed them the moment you stole them away," Daisy's voice was as cold as her venomous eyes, "They had nothing to do with this, and your Alpha pulled them into this. It was cruel and savage!"

Avid couldn't help himself, the natural pull to defend his brother took over and he let a snarl pass his lips, "You have no right to say those things about my alpha! You're just a hired killer and all those like you have killed my species for centuries! Its not like you were so kind as to spare out young! Why are yours any more valuable?"

"Don't try to bring me to your level!" Daisy felt the words rush out of her, her brain only processing the words after they exited her mouth, " Do hunter kill werewolf cubs, yea, we do, but we don't go find random cubs and ransom them! Those kids have nothing to do with us! Hunters kill to protect, you do it for the sick enjoyment. We protect humans from you!"

"Hey, you're the one who attacked me! And aren't they the students of one of your pack?" It took Daisy a moment to realize he was referring to her team, specifically Opal. "Hunters that only hunt us are evil. They aren't as noble as you claim. You know just as well as I do how many packs have been exterminated to make way for the spread of human towns like this one!" Their debate wasn't loud; in fact, they were hissing whispers back and forth, both cautious not to draw attention.

At that moment, Daisy felt like she could see inside of the angry werewolf in front of her. In his dark eyes there was pain, fear, and suffering; pride keeping him from crumbling. He was young, and although he looked eighteen, compared to the lifespan of a werewolf, he was barely a teenager. There was a cloud of sympathy that passed over her heart, making her relax her hold on the daggers significantly.

"I don't understand you," She admitted quietly, watching as the aggression slowly left his face, "I've read so many books about you and your species, but when I really think about it, I don't know much about you guys at all. The things you say and do make you seem human, but you're not. Growing up, we make you guys seem savage and evil, but I bet you guys think the same thing about us."

Feeling the change around Daisy, Avid didn't dare lower his guard, but once again retracted his fangs. "We only fear two things, vampires and you."

"Well we're scared of you too, and for good reason. You eat us." She emphasized the word, daggers lazily held in her hand as he stance disappeared. Rolling his eyes, Avid crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well you guys eat cows, and I don't see them organizing your extermination." Daisy let out a light laugh, and Avid continued, "And its not like its personal either, in all honesty, you guys just taste really good."

Making a gagging noise, Daisy couldn't help but smile as he frowned. He was serious; he wasn't trying to be funny at all. That just made it worse, giggles built up in her stomach, making her freckled face turn red as she tried to hold it in.

"Well, I'm sorry for tasting so good. Maybe if I didn't, we'd be friends." She offered, hoping that he wouldn't become defensive. "I believe there is good in everyone, and I can see it in you too. You just want to be left alone to live your life in safety, just like anyone else." He stared at her for a moment and nodded.

"I would like to be friends. I don't want to fight anymore, I'm tired of running." Another flash of darkness passed though Avid's eyes before he slowly backed away. "In honor of our fantasy friendship, I'm not going to tell you about the werewolves heading this way right now, and I'm not going to tell you there is a back door next to the magazine section." Avid disappeared around the corner without another word, his steps unheard.

With a slight smile, Daisy sped walked in the opposite direction, quickly replacing her weapons, her fingers brushed against paper, and her eyes widened. She needed to check this out, but it would take forever to sign up for a card, and the werewolves were close. Contemplating putting it down, a quiet coughing made Daisy whirl around into a crouch, Avid giving her an odd look.

"You can keep the book, not like anyone else is going to read it." With that he was gone again, and Daisy wasted no time going out the back. Circling around, she hid as four rowdy teenagers pushed into the store. Daisy sprinted to her car, turning on the engine, before pulling out of the parking lot.

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**The next chapter will be posted this Wednesday, because my mother's birthday is Thursday and I'll be busy, sorry**.


	7. Dinner

Elijah resisted the urge to brush his fingers against the gun hidden in his jacket. The bar was alive with dozens of people, happily talking as they drank and ate. In the front of the restaurant there were two girls having a drinking contest, and even from here Elijah could see the one with florescent orange hair about to pass out. Sitting next to him with crossed legs and a straight back, Maly took note of every detail of the place. Where all the possible entrances and exits were, the layout, the number of people, anything that night be helpful.

The others sat spread out around the restaurant, ready to provide any kind of backup. Opal leaned against the counter with a margarita in her hand, flirting with an attractive set of twins. Theo was at one of the tables with Eric, awkwardly watching as Eric jested with some of the other guys about the current game on the television, making bets. Savannah was barely listening to some guy brag about himself, looking every bit of a girl disappointed and irritated by her blind date.

Daisy was on the opposite side of Opal, closer to the exit. Glancing at her watch, she realized that they could expect the Alpha in roughly twenty minutes, and pulled out a thin book from her bag.

"You like anime?" A familiar voice was beside her, and Daisy looked to see Avid. Confusion clouded her face, as she looked at the clock, only four minutes had passed. If Avid was here, that meant two possible things, the Alpha was also posting guards around himself in case of an altercation, or Avid was just here for a good time.

"Sometimes, but I've heard a lot of good things about this one." Daisy gave him a slight smile as their drinks came, not even realizing that he ordered. Taking a sip of his soda, Avid nodded with a fond look towards the book.

"Yeah, I love Attack on Titan. The twisted morality and corruption, it really makes you wonder who the bad guys are." Only seven minutes until the alpha arrived, but Daisy didn't feel worried, they could handle it. Theo planned everything out to the smallest detail.

"Is that your way of telling me that I'm a bad guy for being a hunter?" Daisy paused when he hid a smile behind his glass, and Daisy sighed, getting straight to the point, "What are you doing here, Avid."

"Same thing as you, I suppose," he placed the empty glass on the counter, sliding the book away from her and flipping through the pages, "I was forced here by some friends to have a good time, but they all ditched me." Giving him a hard stare, Daisy tried to will the truth from him, but he didn't budge.

"Fine," Daisy deciding to take a different approach. Feeling a bit nervous, she rubbed her arm slightly, "Ok, I know we just met and all, but do you mind if I just kind of ask you a few things?"

"About what?" The bar tender disappeared behind a spinning door, another younger man took up his place, filling frozen glasses to the rim with alcohol.

"Being a werewolf and all that, I've read books by humans, and that's not the same as having a first hand source." Daisy could feel Avid's ridiculous look, but a smile took over her face when he nodded his approval, "Ok, let's do the basic, what does the moon really do to you guys."

"Of course you would ask about the moon," He muttered in annoyance, humans were so fascinated by the dang moon. "It's kind of like the feeling you get when you're at a wild party with loud music and tons of people; it's ecstasy. Everything seems brighter and louder, so it's hard to control yourself, you just want to go with the flow of the pack. Its not impossible to stay in control, it gets easier as you get older apparently, and purebloods have it way easier than curs. That's what we call humans who were bitten." He clarified, "And Omegas usually just give into the feeling, and for Alphas, the moon doesn't do much really. It just gets the adrenaline running, I guess you could say."

There was a faltering in the atmosphere; even Daisy could feel it as she watched Avid stiffen. For a single moment, all the noise dropped, before picking right back up again.

Maly's gaze swept to the man who walked past the threshold of the building, tilting his head up before walking straight for them. He was far younger than she expected, but it didn't matter, the plan would work no matter how old he was. Flashing them a smile, Leon began the game as he slid into the seat across from them.

"Hello friends," Elijah scowled, crossing his arms over his chest, as Leon looked to Maly, "I believe that you're Malyganya, right. And who is this?" He glanced, unimpressed, at Elijah, "Your guard dog?"

Knowing that he was being baited, Elijah only let out a snort and leaned back further in his chair. Theo had made it agonizingly clear that he didn't want Elijah at the talk, because he was so volatile, but it couldn't be anyone other than him, because he was the strongest out of all of them.

"I am Malyganya, and since you know my name, you must be the Alpha, Leon Stranger." Maly was on guard, the memory of how easily he controlled the conversation on the phone fresh in her mind. It was obvious to see how special this Alpha was, he was going against all normal werewolf behaviors. He was contacting them for God sake; he invited them out to dinner!

Leon waved away the waitress, not wanting anything to drink or eat, and waited patiently for her to take their order. Both ordered water, and the women gave him a final glance, before walking away.

"I would like to get this over with as soon as possible," Maly began, not moving to touch her drink, "so state your terms."

Leaning forward, Leon rested his head on his arm, propped up on his elbow, "You know, you've got this pretty little English accent going on, I didn't even notice it on the phone." When Maly didn't falter, Leon sighed, sitting back, "Right to business, then?"

"If you don't mind." Maly could see Theo watching them from the corner of her eye, writing down notes about the interaction.

"Fine then, obviously I want to trade the kids for Jackie, but I don't really think trading three brats for one werewolf is a fair trade on your part."

"Three," Elijah started, arm tensing, "There were four!"

Leon rolled his eyes, waving him away in a dismissive manner. This human behaved more like a werewolf than anything, aggressive and proud. "Three, four, whatever. I always forget about the fat kid, he's rather pathetic." The noise seemed to become less intense as a large group exited the bar, stumbling and laughing as they returned to their cars. "But anyway, its not a fair trade, I want something else."

"What? Depending on your answer, we may or may not be able to comply." It was obvious that Maly was still fighting for dominance of the conversation; Leon found it as naïve as it was amusing.

"Here's what's going to go down, I'll trade Jackie for the red head. For the fat boy, I want you guys out of my territory within the week, and don't plan on ever coming back." Leon smirked at Maly's murderous glare, "And for the last two, you guys have something that belongs to an associate of mine, a necklace. Just like this one," Leon motioned to the single bead necklace on his neck. "and he wants it back." Elijah immediately recognized it as the one Theo picked up from the poltergeist. Moving slightly to the left in his seat, Elijah knew that somehow, this Alpha was connected to It, just like the poltergeist was. That's why the guy that sends the text messages in a while hasn't contacted the hunters. They were already on their next mission.

"That necklace must be rather important to be worth two lives," Maly's gaze evened out as she saw an opening, "This associate, is he the one that took you from an Omega to an Alpha?"

Not breaking eye contact, Leon's once playful demeanor disappeared, "Well aren't you the smart one, how'd you know I was an Omega?"

"You're rather violent for an Alpha, and get rattled easily when challenged. Therefore, you must have reason to keep proving yourself, my guess is that you haven't been Alpha for long, and not all of your followers are here willingly."

There was a tense silence, before Leon barked out a laugh, "Damn, you got me." He smiled like she'd won a magnificent prize, " Although all of my pack are here willingly. Anyway, we got a deal?"

"Absolutely not." Maly brushed her braid behind her shoulder, signaling the others that things might start to go south. "We can't just hand over the city to you. You must be aware that this town is too small to discreetly house a pack as large as yours. Already, your feedings have attracted human attention. And I'm already aware that many members of your pack tend to travel to surrounding towns to feed, you are just too large to be left unchecked. If we trade this town for those children, then we'll be leaving everyone here to become packaged food, and there would be nothing to stop you from going after the children when we leave."

"That all sounds like stuff that concerns you more than me." Leon laughed, not at all worried about any of the nonsense that was sprouting out of her mouth. He suspected that the information she had on them was from Jackie, he'd deal with her after this was all over.

"It does concern you," Maly insisted, "you might attract the attention of other, stronger and older Alphas. You'd be in control of a werewolf heaven, and I'm sure that there are many who would challenge you for it. Not all of them you can beat."

Leon's teeth elongated slightly as he leaned forward, eyes flashing for a moment, "Don't you worry about that, doll. I can take care of myself just fine."

"But you can't, they will come for you!" Maly felt the control once again slipping as the conversation continued. She needed to convince him to retract that term, or chaos would break lose in North Texas as the realms became a battleground for power. "they might come in groups, you can't fight them all."

"No," Elijah growled, ignoring Maly as she watched him with annoyance from her dark eyes, "They won't challenge you, will they?" He continued, noticing he had Leon's attention, "And even if they do, you have an ace." Gesturing to the necklace on Leon's neck, Elijah smirked, "That associate of yours, he's watching out for you. I'm willing to bet that dealing with him is how you managed to pull your sorry ass up from Omega to Alpha at such a young age. Hell is the pack even yours?"

This was a surprise, Leon didn't expect the large man to be anything but muscle, but it seems that he did know how to use his brain after all, and quiet well. "I formed my own pack, everyone in it was either a loner, outsider, or from a small pack that merged with mine. They're all loyal to me." Leon felt cornered, and pushed for an agreement, "Look you either accept my terms, or you don't. Decide now."

Everything was quiet. Theo swallowed hard, as he suspected, all the remaining individuals were either Hunters or werewolves. Savanna's hand rested tightly on her gun as the narcissistic man grew fangs, the hair on his arms becoming slightly thicker. Opal pointed guns into the backs of the twins, making them freeze. Leon watched them carefully, Maly reaching for her glass and bringing it to her lips, looking him directly in the eye.

Elijah whipped out his gun and shot without thinking, following behind Maly as she ran for the exit. Chaos erupted as the table they were sitting at flipped, a large reddish brown wolf snarling at them. Leon letting out an enraged growl as he followed after them. Savanna was already in the car, zooming out of the parking lot seconds after Elijah slammed the door closed. Cocking her gun, Maly turned around to look at Leon and four other wolves following them closely.

Theo moved quickly, stepping over a recently beheaded werewolf as Eric cleared a path, his breathing heavy and eyes a bit glazed. Slamming onto her back, Opal flipped to her feet, Daisy right beside her as Avid's partially transformed body blocked the exit. Emitting a warning growl, Avid stood alone against the three hunters.

Savannah whipped the car to the right, narrowly avoiding an oncoming car. The truck sped down the road, exiting the city at ninety miles per hour. Green and black blurred though the windows, a few speckled stars and the waning moon following the ongoing chase. Elijah rolled down the back window, air pushing his shirt high on his back as he leaned out and began to shoot. One wolf faltered, before picking up speed, leaning near the tire it lashed out with its paw, easily tearing through the thick rubber. Thrown back in the car, Elijah cursed as the truck hit a pothole and flipped twice before landing upright. Disoriented, he shoved his way out of the truck onto the street, shooting at the wolves as they lunged forward.

Maly appeared beside him, belt armed with knives as she aimed her riffle and pulled the trigger, the grey wolf falling with a yelp. It became a stand off, and Elijah felt his heart in his ears as they stood with their back to the wreckage. He could see Savanna on his left, glock positioned to shoot, but she was shaking. There was a disgusting rumble, and Leon shifted back, pushing himself to his feet. The bastard glared furiously at them from behind the other two wolves. Damn it, Elijah knew this would happen, his grip steadying as he took aim at the Alpha. They got separated from the others; he would bet that Theo and the others never got in the second car, much the less on their way to get the kids.

Ignoring the little voice that spoke in his ear, Elijah knew that by killing the Alpha he would be killing the children as well; but if he didn't shoot the son of a bitch in the head then they'd die here, and the kids would be killed anyway. Was he willing to forgo the children to save himself and complete the mission? Could he really lower himself to that level? Yellow eyes stared at him, fangs bared as the wolves began to circle, Leon standing brick still in front of them.

Yes, yes he could.

The shot rang out; the wolves lunged forward. Fur knocked him to the gravel road, pebbles cutting into his arm and face as the gun went spinning from his hands. He could hear a powerful yell from Maly. He got him, Elijah was sure. Elijah grunted as fur and muscles covered him, pressing his hands into the chest of the beast, thick slime covering his face and neck as it snapped its jaws in an attempt to taste his throat.

Pulling his legs up, Elijah felt his muscles tense as he kicked the wolf in the gut, hearing it whine as it hit the ground next to him. Pulling a switchblade from his boot, he slashed at its eyes, scrambling for his gun before it could heal itself.

"Fuck!" Elijah felt his wrist snap as a boot came down hard on his hand, Leon giving a malicious smirk as he ground Elijah's right hand into the street. "Oh, fuck you!"

Rolling his eyes, Leon picked up the gun, inspecting it with genuine curiosity. He'd never held one before. Luckily, after watching Elijah shoot at him numerous times, he was sure it was easy enough. The injured wolf on the ground limped to his side like a loyal puppy, mouth salivating as he stared at the Hunter on the ground, the smell of sweet blood making him pant heavily.

"I hit you!" He was so sure, Elijah knew that the bullet drove through Leon's heart. Why the hell was the bastard still standing?

"You did," Leon agreed, almost laughing at the enraged look on Elijah's face before tapping his jacket, "Bullet proof vest, my friend. You humans think you're the only ones who use them?" Glancing around, he saw the two girls cornered against the car, it seems that Zeke had arrived with his team, and were helping Izzy pin them. Sighing, Leon aimed the gun experimentally at the girls, pulling the trigger. He laughed when they jumped, these things weren't so hard to use after all.

"Go to fucking hell," Elijah mumbled from the dirt, not daring to move as the wolf next to Leon absorbed his every move, waiting patiently for the signal to devour him. The air was thick with humidity, his jeans sticking to his skin. Mosquitos buzzed in his ear and around his bloody hand, happily feeding on the buffet.

"Y'all should have just taken my deal." Leon felt beyond annoyed at the situation, moving to point the gun at Elijah, "This is why I hate humans, always so damn persistent." He pulled the trigger. Click. Elijah stared as Leon's face clouded with frustrated confusion, pulling the trigger over and over again.

"Its empty, dumbass!" Elijah yelled as Leon's foot slammed back down on his arm. Tossing the gun to the side, Leon opened his mouth to give the order. A high-pitched yelp rang out, Leon turned to face back towards the city, yellowish eyes wide.

"Shit," Leon sprinted off, a blur of black and red until he disappeared in the darkness. "Lets go!"

"But Leon," Zeke growled in warning, they had the hunters cornered! Would Leon really just let this opportunity go?

Avid grunted as another fell to the floor, the last of his pack members cut down by the black haired she demon. Opal smiled at him sweetly, holding her mentor's old blade, she could feel her fingers stained by drying iron blood. The place was a mess, pools of blood mixed together and stained the wood floors and plastic table cloths. Eric and Theo pulled out of the parking lot, speeding down towards the mansion to hopefully complete their side of the mission before the werewolves at the mansion caught wind of what was happening to their leader. During planning, Theo hypostasized that based upon observations by Opal and Savanna, that most of the werewolves lived in different areas, and the mansion was just the headquarters.

"Don't look at me like that, baby," Opal cooed, taking a step forward, ignoring the warning growl from Avid as he refused to look down, "Stay still, I promise to be gentle."

Breathing hard, Daisy felt guilty as she looked at the boy on the floor. His dark eyes echoed anguish over the death of his family, and mental defeat as the blade was lifted above his head. With a numb heart, Daisy recalled the words he told to her at the library.

_Raising his hands in a peaceful gesture, Avid frowned. "Forgive me, but I don't want to fight here. Or at all really, so I'd be very happy to know that I could go back to work without the threat of you throwing more silver at me." _

He didn't fight her, here or there. He'd known, from the moment he sat down next to her, that she was there to attack his alpha, but he did nothing. He stood there while she, Opal, and Eric cut down his pack, but he did nothing.

"_If you can realize what I am so easily, you must be one of the Hunters." She nodded stiffly, licking her lips slightly. "There must be a way for us to work this out so we can both walk away with our lives in tact."_

Avid knew what she was, and at that moment could have overpowered her since she was alone. They both knew that, but he allowed her to threaten him. Not once did he ever threaten to hurt her without reason.

"_Put the knives down, Daisy," Avid growled, feeling more and more cornered as time passed. "If you attack me, you won't be putting only your own life on the line. Let's just talk about this."_

He wanted to talk. He never wanted a fight, even now, as Opal threatened him, there was nothing to stop him from attacking her, but he didn't. Even Opal felt sick as she stared at the freak before her. He didn't attack; he didn't do anything to defend himself or those around him. Why? Who would just let themselves be killed in such a way, let their family be killed in such a way?

"Niko," the voice that whispered to Opal's heart almost made her drop her weapon. Yes, Niko did exactly that didn't he? She remembered, arms shaking as she held back tears as her mentor refused to kill the man who threatened him. It was something she never understood; Niko was a veteran hunter. He could have stopped the massacre so easily. He could have saved himself and everyone in that store, but he didn't. Niko let it happen. Now, looking into the eyes of the male under her blade, Opal could see the same look Niko gave the gunman being directed at her. One of reluctant understanding.

The world was hard, no one left unscathed, but some were burned far worse than others. Some to the point where they could truly glance into the hearts of even the most despicable person, and see a speck innocence. Niko had seen so much from such a young age, and yet, he never blamed anyone. When the time came, he didn't defend himself. When he looked into the eyes of his murder, he was not angry, he did not accuse, he understood that in order for Opal to reach the next level, to become a better person, he needed to die. She needed to feel pain, in order to grow.

Looking at the werewolf, she could see the same maturity in his eyes. In order for someone to be happy, he needed to die, and that was ok. Who he did it for was not important at the moment, and Opal lowered her blade, it dropped with a high clang as the metal hit the floor.

"No." Was that her voice, Opal didn't know. The room was getting foggy, and her face was wet. Avid didn't move, staring at her with an open mouth. When did his fangs retract, how long had he looked so human?

Daisy's phone rang in her pocket, the sound of crying reaching her ears as she flipped the phone open, "We got them!" Theo yelled from the other side, "We're heading to the car now!"

"Opal," Daisy felt herself stumble over her words, before coughing slightly into her hand, "They got them, we should,"

"Yeah," Swallowing thickly Opal glanced outside, before jerking her head upwards towards the door, "Go."

Frozen, Avid stared at the two Hunters. They were letting him go? No, Avid was sure it was a trick, they were going to follow him to his brother and kill them, just like they did everyone else. Struggling to stand, Avid felt his ears buzz. Blinking quickly, he tried to look anywhere but at the corpses on the ground, but still made contact with the dark brown eyes of a severed head. The noise became unbearable, his body locked up, his senses overwhelmed. He couldn't do it! Falling to his knees, he felt grief overtake him. It was his parents all over again! His mind couldn't process anything, he needed Leon! He needed his big brother!

Daisy's head connected with the side of a table as she was knocked back off her feet, vision tilting quickly as she felt around for her weapons. Opal snapped out of her sympathetic spirits, trying not to scream as she put pressure on her side. Damn, it felt like she broke something. Looking up, the Alpha stood over her, murderous intent rushing from every pore of his body.

"Leon!" Avid was crying, he couldn't stop the memories; the smell of blood was too strong. He was a child again; he was helpless and blind and, fuck, why the hell wasn't Leon over here? Snapping his gaze to his brother, Leon was by his side before Opal could breath, glancing him over for injuries as he hugged him gently. The other wolves filled in. Some whined at the grisly sight of their brethren, others approached them with snapping fangs and bared teeth, fully intent on getting revenge.

"Avid?" Leon couldn't figure out why his brother was crying! The kid hadn't broken down like this since they were little and he had nightmares!

"Leave them alone, just," Avid took a ragged breath, "lets go home!" Within seconds, the place was clear. Tears welled up in Daisy's eyes as the adrenaline wore off and she realized how sore she was. Man, that guy hit her hard!

Within the hour, Savannah pulled up in the truck, dents and dirt staining blocks of the surface. They were silent as they drove to the safe house. Despite the blood on their bodies, the bruises on their faces, the exhaustion in their eyes, and the ache in their muscles they were successful. Theo's plan had worked. The kids were safe, they were all alive, and soon, they would be together in the safe house. The kids would stay with Maly and Opal until the pack was dealt with. Maly had already called four hunters to come and assist.

In the passenger seat, Elijah was thinking hard. That Alpha, damn him, he would kill Leon himself. With every flex of his wrist he could feel the stinging pain that Leon used to humiliate him. Plans were coming to his mind as he tried to remember everything about his enemy. They way he fought, how long it took him to transform, anything!

Leon was fast, faster than any werewolf he'd ever encountered, and stronger too. He'd somehow dodged the first shot to the head at the booth during the conversation. Elijah was only feet away, almost point blank range, even if he was a werewolf, Leon should be dead. Yet, he wasn't. The bastard was able to move out of the way! Was he anticipating the attack, was that why there were so many werewolves stationed at the bar?

The car pulled into the driveway, before giving a spurt as Savannah turned off the engine. No one moved from their seats. It wasn't over, yet. But for now, they could rest.

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	8. Breakthough

The group sat in silence, Theo's head hung low as he covered his shame in his hands. He had failed. This was all his fault, the plan was his and it was flawed. The small wooden cabin was much smaller than Opal's cozy house, and far to small for six adults and four traumatized children. Curled up on the floor, the children clung to one another to ward off any stray nightmares, somehow immune to scorching heat. The air-conditioning unit broke down early in the morning, and the Hunters were staying as far away from each other as they could in the limited space. In comparison, the heat was bearable to the discernable tension.

"Ok," Savannah's eyes were duller than the grey décor, "so explain what happened again?" The sun barely peaked over the flat horizon, dusting the sky with oranges and yellows.

Raking his fingers against his face, Theo licked his lips. "We were leaving the mansion with the kids, and a werewolf ambushed us, Eric went in to kill it, but more showed up and there was no way we were getting out of these alive, so," Swallowing thickly, Theo could still hear Eric's demanding shouts in his ear, "he told me to take the kids and run. So I did."

"You abandoned him." Opal was never one to chop words, her lips turned down in a distasteful frown. Staring at her, Theo could only look away after a moment of guilt and nod. Its not like he wanted to, but if he had gone to help Eric, then the kids would have been left vulnerable. It could have potentially turned into a hostage situation, where the werewolves would possess not only four children, but two hunters as well. At that point they would have completely lost, which was not an option considering the possible outcome.

"Well," Elijah flexed his wrist; testing the bandages Daisy applied the night before. "do we at least know if he's alive." As much as Elijah hated to admit it to himself, it was maddening to know Eric was a hostage. They traded the lives of four children for one hunter, their teammate. Glancing at the little snots, Elijah wasn't sure if it was worth it.

"Its almost a guarantee," Maly sat close to the electric fan, legs crossed as she yanked her fingers through her hair to remove any more debris from the fight, "they lost four valuable pawns and gained a rook, if anything, they'll treat him better than they treated the children."

"So when do we go get him?" Elijah waited for the silence to be replaced by chatter of Theo's plans, or Maly's observations, or Savanna's schemes; anything but this silence. Bitterness overtook him when no one would answer him. "That it, huh? You're just going to fucking leave him there to die?"

"Of course not," Maly stopped grooming herself to stare disapprovingly at the hostile man in front of her, "We have reinforcements coming, its better if we wait,"

"Better for who?" Cutting her off, Elijah ignored the throbbing sting in his wrist as he pushed himself to his feet, "You, or the guy sitting in enemy territory being tortured." Elijah moved towards Theo, determined to get things moving, "come on, nerd, you've got to have some weird plan in that fat brain of yours." Nothing. He turned to Savannah, "Bitch, are you seriously just going to leave him there? What happened to all that military, no man gets left behind, shit?" Once again, he was met by silence. In a final desperate attempt to faced the ginger, "Daisy?"

They'd all given up, Elijah stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by his comrades but utterly alone in his desire to rescue Eric. Fury passed over him, the face of the Alpha flashed before his eyes, smirking, laughing. This was all his fault wasn't it? The team wasn't perfect before, but they were functional, they looked out for each other.

Hell, Elijah didn't have to do the things he did. He didn't have to save Theo from the poltergeist, he didn't have to stop the vampire hostage from killing Eric or Theo that night. He didn't have to do odd jobs to get enough money from Savannah to buy ammunition; he didn't need intimidate creepy guys from approaching Daisy in bars. But he did. Elijah did, because he knew they would do the same for him. He thought they would, but he couldn't help but feel doubt when none of them rushed to help Eric.

It was obvious Eric was liked more than he was, yet he was still in the clutches of the wolves. Eric had sacrificed himself to save Theo and the kids, yet Theodore hasn't even started planning a recon mission. But why, what made them sit here while he tried to be a hero? Daisy was more compassionate than he was, Savannah was more loyal, Theo was closest to Eric. Elijah couldn't stand Eric, he didn't hate him, but they clashed more often than they worked together.

"Stop it, Elijah." Maly's stern voice broke into his thoughts, brining him back down with a harsh snap. He could hear quiet sobbing, and looked towards Theodore. The boy was curled in a ball, knees tucked up to his chest as he hid his face, body shaking with grief. Maly barely glanced at the broken young man, before swiftly standing up, quietly going into the next room, Elijah followed with heavy steps. Slightly closing the door, Maly's brown eyes found his tormented ones. "This is not the time for you to lose your temper. You're friends are broken and doubting themselves, they need to recover. And in order for them to do that as quickly as possible, you can not throw their mistakes in their faces."

"Don't you dare tell," Elijah was quickly cut off as he took a step closer to the smaller girl, and she took a step forward of her own.

"Eric is alive, Elijah, and the best way to keep him alive to not aggravate the werewolves any further. Leon will call with another deal, this time he'll be more demanding because he thinks he has something valuable, and he's right. Eric is valuable, the actions of you and your team have confirmed it. So when that deal comes, we'll take it." Elijah's glare turned to shock as Maly continued. "We'll get out of the city and head for Austin. There we'll meet up with the others and round up any other hunters we can find in the area and end this. Right now the smartest thing to do is to be passive aggressive, we cannot risk being defeated here. So when Leon calls us, if it's the land, the necklace, or whatever else we will hand it over to him."

Elijah stared at her, before turning on his heels and quietly stalking back to the other room. With a satisfied glow, Maly followed behind him, intent on returning to her spot. But she didn't expect Elijah to plop down before Theo with a hard look. The Greek refused to look at Elijah, holding himself tighter.

"Where is it?" Elijah whispered, voice tired as he patiently waited for an answer. Hair drenched in sweat, Theo reached into his jacket pocket, still keeping his face down as he pulled out the necklace. Eyes widening, Maly took a step towards them, only to be stopped a hard look from Elijah.

"Is that the necklace?" Analyzing the rather plain piece of jewelry, Maly could see no obvious significance, but pursed her lip, "Its identical to the one the Alpha was wearing."

"Wait," Theo tugged the necklace back towards him as Elijah reached for it, turning blurry red eyes towards her. "The alpha had a necklace," he held it up a bit higher, forcing himself to stand Theo ignored the cracking of bones in his back and knees, "Exactaly like this? With the single bead on black wire?"

Not leaning away from the panicked look in his eyes, Maly gave the necklace a closer look, the shiny brown bead was the same size, and the wire was the same thickness, so she nodded stiffly, "Yes, I'm guessing there is some significance? The Alpha placed high value for its safe return."

Theo blinked before turning on his heels and running to his phone, scrolling though text messages. Frustration bloomed on his face and he threw the phone down with an angry cry, one of the children shooting straight up and staring at him with mortified eyes.

"Theo, calm down!" Daisy scrambled over to the lone child, trying to calm him before the others were woken by the racket. Savannah stood up quickly as Theo reached into her bag and flipped on her phone, easily bypassing the security password.

"The hell are you doing to my phone?" Savannah hissed, no one touched her phone. Theo backed out of her reach, scrolling as he held his hand out to keep her at bay.

"I figured it out!" Theo's fingers sped over the keys as he typed, giving Savannah a frustrated look, "Stop it, I'll explain!"

"Then you better start quick!"

"I know why the man contacted us, I know why he made this team!" Theo's face lit up, the puzzle had been bugging him since he first met the others, and had plagued him ever since they stayed at Opal's house. Everyone silently waited for him, Maly and Opal sharing a confused glance. Theo's smile widened, "This person assembled us based upon our skill set right? He got Elijah for his fighting skills, Daisy for her connections and mastery of blades, Savannah for her shooting abilities, Eric for his experience, and me for my brains. Idealistically, we're the textbook hunter team. We're young enough that no one really questions our insane behavior, but old enough to travel alone unquestioned. Daisy," Theo looked down at the girl, forgetting the phone clutched in his had as he approached her, "you know a lot about rocks right, all their spiritual meanings and things like that?" Daisy nodded, "What is this?"

Gently taking the necklace in her hands, Daisy crossed her legs from her place on the floor, ignoring the stares she was receiving as well as Theo's over enthusiastic grin. The bead was shiny, polished, and no bigger than the nail on her pinky. The different shades of brown and black in the streaks of the rock were gorgeous. "Its bronzite, you can tell by the different shades of brown and the submetallic look, also its got a really distinct cleavage even though its polished." Pausing for a moment, Daisy licked her chapped pink lips, "And I'm pretty sure that its used for protection and to help people take control over their lives. Although it's a unpopular stone, most people want something prettier."

"Yeah, yeah," Theo nodded quickly, "So back a couple centuries ago, some religions used stone or plants to ward off daemons or spirits. Some humans even crafted specific things to keep a specific daemon away. For example, think about a Kraken like beast, well there was legend that a hunter crafted a chain made of onyx and had a couple priest bless it before taking it to a monk and having Chinese seals etched into each link. The next time the thing popped up, they presented the chain and were able to banish it. Now, the only thing strong enough to stop it is that exact chain."

"You lost me, what does the chain have to do with us again?" Elijah grumbled, relieved that Theo's mind was working but aggravated by his overly long and detailed explanation.

"Absolutely nothing!" Theo ignored the exasperated groan from Elijah, his smile widening, "But what if these necklaces are to It as the chain was to the Kraken thing. That's what the man in the text wants from us, he wants us to get these necklaces and use them to banish It, or something of that nature. Therefore, we can assume It has knowledge of the necklaces existence, and in order to make sure It wouldn't be banished again, It split them up amongst his minions, like the Alpha and the poltriguiest." Theo was breathing hard from speaking so quickly, waiting for a reaction to his beautiful deduction.

Opal and Maly just stared at him, not understanding a word of what he was talking about. What text messages, and what was this it he kept referring too? There was a laugh, and as Savannah's smile brightened, Theo couldn't help but smile too. He really was a genius, she realized, feeling silly for not seeing something that was no so obvious. It was right in front of them, yet only Theo could clear away the fog and see the trees ahead of them.

"Makes sense," Elijah mumbled, "It would explain why Leon's so damn fast, he's getting powerups from this thing, just like the poltriguiest. And if you're right, we obviously can't hand it over to the bastard." Theo's smile fell slightly as reality came rushing back to him, "So, what do we do, nerd?"

A few neighborhoods over, for once, the neighbors sighed in relief as the rowdy mansion was silent. The streetlights flickered on; cars sped down the road as the iron gates stayed closed. Zeke stood behind Leon in the office awkwardly. Avid sat, arms crossed over his chest, staring at the ground as two other werewolves flanked him, hands holding him to the seat. Dried blood flaked on his chin as he gave his brother a look of suppressed anger and acumen. Shifting in his seat, Leon stared at him with annoyance and disappointment clearly etched on his face.

"Leon, perhaps," Zeke instantly stopped talking when Leon sent him a hard look, before taking in a deep breath, eyebrows scrunching together.

"Get out," Everyone turned to leave, Avid began to stand as the hands on his body disappeared, "Not you!" Eyes closed, Avid sat back down. He almost looked asleep, chest rising and falling slowly, eyes closed, but Leon could hear the blood rushing through his heart, faster and faster with each passing moment. The door clicked shut, and the two brothers remained in silence. "Are you just going to sit there," Leon leaned forward in his chair, elbows resting on the desk as he laced them together in front of him, glaring intently, "or do you have something to say to me."

"You forgot to pay the cable bill," Avid's eyes remained closed, the comfortable temperature of the room making it easy for him to relax. He could feel the hard gaze directed at him, and tired his best not to squirm. The loud sound of the table cracking penetrated the silence of the room. Leon's fist lifted from the splintered wood.

"Don't fuck with me, Avid," His voice was still calm, surprisingly, "you know what you did back there. So you better tell me exactly what's going on in that head of yours, or so help me or I will,"

"You'll what? Hit me?" Avid's eyes snapped open at the threat, "You wouldn't even if you wanted to." The two brothers fell into silence once again, Avid's fearless behavior striking a cord with Leon. He was right though, Leon wouldn't hit him.

"Oh, Avie," Leon moaned, dragging his hand down his face, feeling his goatee, "Why do you have to fight me all the time, can't you just listen to your big brother for once?" Avid didn't answer, instead directed his gaze back to the floor, "Could you at least tell me why you've been acting up all day? Is it about that hunter downstairs?"

"This," Avid paused, considering his words, "This is all you're fault."

Leon blinked twice before running his fingers though his hair and leaning back, he could see Avid swelling and soon he'd be on a full on rant, might as well be ready. "Now what are you talking about?"

"Everything!" Avid exploded, chair thrown back as he shot to his feet, "Ever since everyone died,"

"Hey!" Leon growled a warning, but Avid didn't stop, he didn't even seem to hear him.

"Ever since everyone died, you've been on this hunt for revenge, and now, you're so fucking blinded by getting back at the Hunters for what they did, you go and put everyone in danger by kidnapping this human."

"First of all I didn't kidnap him, he broke into my house! And you're one to talk about putting everyone in danger," Leon was on his feet, glaring at his brother as the only thing that separated them was the wooden desk, "You knew about the other hunters at the bar, that girl with the red hair, you knew she was one of them, and you didn't do anything to warn the others! Their deaths are on your hands!"

"I wouldn't have had to warn anyone if you didn't have to fulfill your sick desire of taunting them! You never know when to fucking stop! We should have just traded the kids for the town and Jackie and left it at that, what the hell else did you want?"

"That doesn't concern you, Avid!"

"It does when my brother's acting like a psychopathic maniac to get it! Shit, I'm not even sure if you care what happens to me or the pack anymore, all you seem to care about is this sick game you've got going on with the Hunters!"

Wind glazed across the window. Leon froze, glaring at Avid with distaste and frustration. "You're un-fucking-believable," He said calmly, "Everything I've ever done, this house, this pack, these hunters, its all been for you! You, my ungrateful, pathetic, runt of a little brother." There was silence; Leon stood up straight, moving around the desk to stand beside his brother, "Just get out!"

"Like hell," Avid exploded, taking a step closer to his brother, too close.

"Get out!" Leon roared, shoving Avid hard with his bare hands. Taking advantage of the shock and hurt on the younger boy's face, Leon hauled him out of the door, before barking at one of the guards to take the Beta to his room and lock him in until further notice. "No one comes in here, got it?" the door slammed shut, echoing down the hall. Pressing his palms into the wood, Leon closed his eyes and took a deep breath, turning around with an even expression. "What are you doing here."

The thing gave a wicked smile; yellowed teeth dull in the lighting. "I'm here to collect my payment, boy."

"Its not time yet," Leon snapped, trying his best to keep his temper in check. This wasn't how things were supposed to happen, everything was going wrong. He felt the room get colder, and pressed on, "You weren't supposed to come for another week. I'll have your payment by then, I promise."

"Promise?" The beast cackled, thick pointed fingernails dragged across the wooden desk, leaving deep marks. "You promised to collect, if I awarded you the power to protect your dear little brother." It glanced around the room with distaste, "It seems you used that power for other means as well, but your miserable little promise isn't why I'm here. I've decided that I no longer only want you to fulfill the original bargain," Leon stiffened. "You have something else I want."

"That wasn't the deal," Leon hissed, he didn't care what this beast wanted, he just wanted him gone. This vile and omnipresent being made him fear for his life, "You said if I,"

"Does it matter what was said then, listen to my words now, mutt," It hated werewolves almost as much as It despised humans. On his scale, werewolves were only slightly higher than vampires, who were only better than humans by a measly fraction. "You will do as I say, or perhaps I should take something to remind you not to play with me." It slithered closer to him, its slime staining the carpet. "Your little brother's pelt would make a fine coat." Leon's eyes went wide, and It pressed on, "I've come to learn that the best way to skin a werewolf is when their alive and squirming, it's a sport in some parts of the world."

Leon couldn't breath, and his fingers dug into his hands. He couldn't even partially shift around this thing; Its presence was just that dominating. Breathing out slowly, he hung his head, "Ok, fine. What do you want?"

The beast dragged its tongue over sharped thin teeth, breathing hot, putrid air on Leon's face. "Give me, the Hunter."

Leon stared, before nodding slowly, "Ok, you can have him. But once you do, I've fulfilled my part of the deal. And I'm done with you."

A screech sounded though the room, "Yes, this deal will be over, but you will never be done with me." Touching the necklace around Leon's neck, the beast mimicked a wide smile. "As long as this thing collars you, you belong to me!"


	9. Meeting

Leon paced around his room, clothes littered on the ground and empty beer can were kicked to the other side of the room. Fuck he wanted to go hunting tonight, hear someone beg for mercy as he ripped their limbs off. Anyone would do, hell that hunter down stairs would be best, but he needed the guy so he couldn't waste him, yet. His cell phone rang, he paused noticing that it was an unknown number. What in the world was wrong with his phone, he programed unknown numbers to go straight to voicemail, but this one kept on ringing.

"Who is this?" Leon growled, hoping it was just a joke one of the pack was playing on him, because they had too much time on their hands. There was a chuckle on the other line, and Leon's mouth fell open.

"Karma's a bitch isn't she?" Elijah laughed ruefully, imagining the furious face of the werewolf. The door was locked and the window blinds were shut within a second, Leon sat down on his bed.

"How the hell did you get my number, Hunter?" Leon leaned forward, one hand gripping the bead around his neck between two fingers.

"Nah, freak, you had your turn, now its mine and I'm going to have fun with this." Elijah flashed a smile, ignoring Theo's pointed look as he signaled for Elijah to follow the plan. Rolling his eyes, Elijah continued, "You fucked with the wrong hunters, man, where's Eric?"

Goosebumps rose on Leon's skin as he pressed the bead to his lips, closing his eyes. Ok, something was different. The hunters had no leverage on him, Leon had to remind himself as his pulse quickened. Jackie was back with the pack, properly punished for her actions, but safe all the same. No one from the pack was missing, and Avid was still locked in his room. He still had the advantage, Leon still had the hostage, but for some reason, the hunters seemed to be under the impression that they were in charge.

"I don't know how you got this number, but it doesn't change anything, Hunter. I'm still the one in charge of our little conversations." Leon pursed his lips as Elijah began to laugh again.

"If you're the one in charge, then why are you taking orders like some little bitch?"

"What?" Hissed Leon, standing up as he began to pace again. They knew, he didn't know how, but they knew whom he was working for. Damn this complicated things, now they were going to be more rebellious.

"You heard me, freak, now I'm not going to lie. I hate Texas, so lets finish this as soon as possible so I can get out of here." Elijah listed the location, date, and time before Leon could cut him off, "Oh and remember, bring Eric, no one else."

"Like hell," Leon growled, "I come out there alone and you guys are going to slay me, I'm brining five others, six and six, its even!" Elijah looked towards Theo, asking what he wanted to do. Shaking his head violently, Theo held up one finger.

"You get one." Elijah coughed into his hand.

"Then I'm not coming, and you can say goodbye to your friend. I'll get what I want one way or another." Leon let out a lazy yawn, stomach clenching in hunger. His mind began to drift when the other side was silent. Maybe he'd go hunting tonight with the group that was heading down to Austin, it'd be a nice three day trip of food and fun. Besides, the hunter wasn't exactly his to trade anymore, but whatever got him the necklace.

"Not the best plan, if you kill Eric we'll destroy the necklace," Elijah was bluffing, after all if Theo was right, then the Alpha was just another game piece, he took orders but didn't know enough details to be a major player. The necklace's importance made it a top priority for the Alpha, meaning he would be willing to do almost anything to get it. "And on top of that, we've got more Hunters on standby."

Hearing the unspoken threat, Leon bit the inside of his cheek, feeling a headache coming on, "Alright, fine, I get it. I'll cooperate, but you better not cross me." Flipping the phone shut, Leon felt satisfied that he got the last word. Laugher drifted passed his door, the loud thump of boots vibrating against the floor. Tossing the phone on his dresser, Leon strode out of the room, too quick to be noticed by the passing group.

Walking further down the hall, Leon ran his fingers though his hair as he waved three guards away from the blue door. The handle was warm and slightly sticky when he touched it, most likely from sweaty hands that gripped the nob to tight as they nervously opened the door. Knocking lightly, Leon didn't wait for an answer as he entered the room. A wave of muggy heat blasted him, the entire room clouded in a light watery fog. He closed the door behind him, noticing the bathroom door was wide open as the running water came to a quick stop.

"Who is in my room?" Leon chuckled at the annoyed growl Avid let out from the bathroom, his head popped out quickly and glared when he saw his older brother.

"Go away, I don't want to talk to you!" Avid slammed the bathroom door shut, a thin crack emerging from the wall from the sheer uncensored force. Rolling his eyes, Leon hopped on Avid's bed, the springs groaning under his weight as he sprawled out on his back. The room was far cleaner than his, clothes in their proper places, candy wrappers in the trash bin, desk clean of any dust, and there were books too. Leon hated books, but his brother seemed to love them. Flinging his arm over his head, Leon felt something hard under him, and pulled it onto his stomach. Avid's computer, Leon smirked as he popped the top open, breaking the code without a second thought as he browsed through Avid's history. There had to be something he could tease him about in here, Leon could here cursing as Avid dropped something in the bathroom.

The smirk slowly fell off his face as Leon sat up, staring at the computer with furious interest. The same word kept popping up. University. Grunting slightly, Leon directed the screen to Avid's email, finding that he had set up accounts on both ApplyTexas and the Common Application. There were two new emails from something called Federal Student Aid?

So Avid wanted to go to school. Leon snorted, he'd rather turn human then have Avid go off on his own.

Rolling off the bed, Leon left the room without another word, pushing the angry voices in his head to the back. He descended one flight of stairs, then another to the basement, pulling a brass key from his belt loop when he came to a newly added steel door. It was easy to push open, and shut with a loud thud behind him. Stale air and humidity dominated his senses, the artificial lights flicking overhead as flies buzzed across the floor. It was disgusting. The rats that once occupied the place had fled as the underground section became more dank and moldy, only the flies lived down here now.

Boxes pilled to the ceiling, stiff and wrinkled, and old books lined the back wall. Since the time he acquired the mansion, Leon had rarely visited the dismal basement, but this was a special occasion. In the corner, in one of the driest parts of the room was a bed with an iron headboard. There was little else in the world that could compare to the sight of ones enemy lying dead and mangled at ones feet, Leon believed. However, the sight of your enemy, chained down in his own filth as his comrades bargained for his life was far more satisfying.

"Hey there, friend." Leon pulled a stool next to the bed, the stuffing leaking out of he side. "How are you feeling today?" He came down here quiet often actually. Avid said he was feeding his own ego, but Leon ignored him and continued to visit anyway.

Eric felt the pressure in his head lessen a bit as he struggled to open his eyes. His entire body felt on fire; he flexed his fingers, hissing as the cuts in his hands reopened. Never in his life did he feel this much physical pain, turning his head to the side, Eric gazed at Leon through hazy eyes.

"You know, I've already apologized, but I just want to make sure that you know how sincerely sorry I am about Monica kicking your ass." Leon smirked at the dead look in Eric's eyes, before heaving a sigh, "But you brought it on yourself, I mean, you beheaded her mate of ten years." Rolling his neck, Leon paused, "I know that's such a foreign concept to you; the ideas of werewolves being able to love." No, Eric wanted to say, he knew very well they were capable of love. Daisy had once joyfully explained the dynamics of a pack to him, how they were all family and put the needs of the many over the needs of one. Surly that must take a lot of love, to put people above yourself, some of whom were not related by blood. However, Eric's mouth was still taped shut, so he simply blinked.

"That's alright though, you don't need to understand. Not like it would change anything." Leon cringed as images of flames and blood flashed before him, screams and cries echoing in his ears. "Even if we weren't causing you any problems, you'd still come after us." No they wouldn't, Eric mumbled against the tape, chest throbbing with dulled pain with each attempted sound. Scoffing, Leon ripped the tape off, giddiness breezing over him at Eric's red skin and bleeding lip. "After all, we're just a bunch of savages, right? Who cares what happens to us or our families. As long as you get to sleep as night, right?"

"Not really," Eric's voice cracked at the end, his tongue coming out to wet his severely chapped lips, " I'm in it for the girls." There was silence as Leon clicked his tongue, but made no move to hit him. Even he wasn't so brutal as to beat on a broken man. "But seriously, I think you've got us all wrong man," Voice horse and dry, Eric stared directly into the eyes of his captor.

"Really now? How would you know what I think about you?" Leon leaned forward, back hunched slightly as he put one elbow on his knee, propping his head in his hand.

"Dude, I've been listening to you rant and haze me for the past two days. I think I have a pretty good idea of how much you hate me. Well hunters, not particularly me, but me as in hunters." Eric's mind traveled slightly, questions of his teammates whereabouts and health creeping into his mind. It was maddening to not know how it all ended, if the children were safe or not. "Why do you hate us so much, I mean, other than we hunt and murder your family." Eric paused, thinking of the madness that overtook his own mind after his father was killed by a supernaterual being; and here he was, a hunter, indirectly taking revenge. "Actually, never mind, that's a pretty good reason. I can understand it, but you technically do the same thing."

"You're not going to try to sympathize with me are you?" Leon groaned, "Try to appeal to my human side? Because I've already got one emotional teenager upstairs, I don't need to deal with you being emotional downstairs."

"Little brother?" Eric breathed out, smiling slightly when Leon nodded. "Yeah, I have a little brother too, he's a pain in my ass. Doesn't listen, all we do is argue. The whole nine."

Staring wearily at Eric, Leon sighed somewhat relieved to know he wasn't the only one suffering. "Same here, my friend. We're just too different, and we want different things. I do my best to protect him, be there for him, but the more I do, the more I distance myself from him." Eric didn't say anything, so Leon continued, "We were close when our parents were alive, but after they were slaughter by you bastards, he just kind of spiraled. Didn't help that they killed mom right in front of him." Leon gave him a pointed look, "You bastards were ruthless, they cut him up pretty good before the others stopped him."

"I'm sorry," Eric swallowed thickly, his thirst resurfacing. He felt bad about what happened to them, he really did. Not once had he ever considered that the things he hunted and killed felt the same way he did. They felt pain and they felt love. Eric almost smiled as Leon haughtily rejected his apology; it seems that his foster father was wrong after all.

In fact, as Eric stared at the disgruntled Alpha through heavy, puffy eyes, he was willing to bet that Leon and Elijah might have gotten along pretty well if they had met under different circumstances. Maybe Eric's little brother, and Leon's little brother may have whined to each other about their sibling problems. It was silly really, it was kind of like that one decade, the one where everyone hated anyone who was different from them. Or was that a century? Maybe there was a war over it? Eric groaned as his head started to hurt. Too much thinking, besides, Eric was never good at history anyway. Or school in general.

"You ever wonder if its all worth it? The fighting?" Eric resisted a yawn, he'd been asleep forever, and his bones were starting to feel like rods.

Leon kept silence, standing up from the stool, he felt his knees pop as he walked out the door and jogged up the stairs. Didn't he tell that hunter he didn't want to get all touchy feely with him? Damn, Leon couldn't lie to himself. The guy wasn't to bad, in an annoyingly enigmatic way. A couple of the younger members passed him, laughing loudly as they called out greetings, inviting him to join them for a hunt. Declining, Leon headed towards his room. Yeah, that Eric guy wasn't too bad, even if he was a hunter. It was too bad really, easy to relate to.

Leon stopped dead, a thick heavy weight settling in his stomach made his grimace. No, he wouldn't feel guilty about what he was doing. The nagging voice in the back of his head hissed at him, its silver tongue flicking at his conscious, awakening unbearable failures and the agonizing consequence. Damn it, Leon quickened his pace, head down as he clenched his fist tightly in his pockets. He couldn't afford to have doubts now, no matter how much sympathy emerged for this hunter. Leon squashed the hope that welled in his heart; hope that maybe the hunter was right, maybe the hunters weren't as bad as he made them out to be.

Then he remembered Avid, when they were young. Blood covered his tiny body as the child wailed at the sight of his butchered mother, her head three feet away from her pale body. Avid clinging onto his arm, nails puncturing his flesh as fresh streams of blood flowed down his arm.

His mother's beautiful dark brown eyes were flat as blood drained from her severed head, lips parted in surprise, reddish brown hair strown around the floor. Forcing bile back down, Leon slammed his door behind him, fumbling with the lock before sliding to the floor. He could hear Avid's screams and cries, he could smell the disgusting smell of gasoline and salt as their home went up in flames with them still inside. He could feel the heat; he could feel Avid's body pressed against his as the smoke caved in on them. Leon was sure he was going to die, his heart twisting as tears ran down his chubby cheeks. He didn't understand, why did those people do this. They didn't harm anyone. He didn't want to die! He was a good boy, he didn't want to die yet! Leon wanted to live! He wanted to live with his mother, and brother, and father. He wanted to go to school, he wanted to run and play. He didn't want to die!

Leon shoved his hand into his mouth, biting down hard with his fangs. Blood burst forth, puddling on the floor as the memories dispersed and only the pain remained. No, Leon bit harder, flinching when he hit bone. He would never forgive the bastards.

The moon was beginning its descent towards the ground as the sun began to claw its way over the horizon, but its first rays had not yet managed to break through. Savannah stood by Theo's side, gun resting heavily in her palms. She's had a tough week, mentally draining with every new discovery. It was not easy to fully come to terms to the life she had willingly walked into, but she could no longer afford to allow her hands to shake or her mind to scream. There was an objective, and if she focused on it, she could keep her insecurities and worries at bay. Savannah could mull over her lifestyle when they were driving out of this town, but for now, as the lukewarm air brushed through her hair, she prepared herself for battle.

Elijah cracked his knuckles, standing perfectly still in between Opal and Maly in the center of the clearing. The trees stood no higher than two stories, but were thick enough to provide decent coverage. Bats returned to their nest under bridges, fat off of insects. He blinked, and Leon was standing across from him, his open black trench coat fluttering softly in the rare breeze.

"Let me see," Leon scanned over the opposing party, "I only see five assholes. Where's the sixth?"

"Irrelevent," Theo quickly took charge, staying slightly behind Savannah and Opal, the last thing he wanted was to get in their way.

"I wasn't talking to you," Leon scowled at him in annoyance, before directing his eyes back to Elijah, bits of light reflecting off his dark eyes, giving them a yellow tinge. "I was talking to him." Elijah glanced quickly at Theo, before returning to look at the Alpha. Although slightly exasperated, Theo felt no offense at the dismissive way the Alpha talked to him. Leon was an Alpha of a strong pack, and in theory, was addressing a pack that was almost equally as powerful as his own. It only made sense that he would want to talk to the leader, and felt no need to bother himself with the lower member of the pack. Therefore, Elijah was the closest to an Alpha as far as Leon observed of their behavior. He was the best fighter, blunt, cunning, aggressive; in fact, Elijah was like a werewolf in more ways than he could count. Minus the eating people part.

"Well I'm flattered really," Elijah drawled, crossing his arms over his chest with a lazy smirk, "But, uh, as much as I like you, I don't swing that way. Besides, only I get to call these fuckers assholes."

"Gey, thanks," Savannah mumbled, holding back a laugh at the done look on Leon's face.

Leon flashed his fangs, putting his hands in his pockets. He was really hungry. Theo tensed, hoping that Daisy was in position if Leon did try to do something. The weight of the necklace was like a slab of granite in his jacket pocket. Knowing that the jacket was to big and to warm for the weather, Theo wore it anyway, it always helped keep him calm in tense situations.

"Alright, let's get this over with," Elijah motioned to Theo, "We brought the necklace, so where's Eric?"

Stomach flush to the dry brittle grass, Daisy looked though the sight of the sniper riffle at the tall Alpha. The words said were lost to her, but she could see as Leon motioned to the forest, and another werewolf drug Eric's limp body into the clearing. Theo stepped forward with the necklace, the polished stone flashed dimly as it caught the first rays of the morning sun. More words were spoken, and a noise sounded. Daisy twisted around, knives flowing from her hands as she attacked without looking. The figure dove to the ground as he moved into a crouch, trying to keep her eyes on the clearning and the figure behind her at the same time. Damn it, they double crossed them didn't they? The Alpha brought more wolves, she had so signal the others.

"Wait, Daisy, wait, its me" the figure stepped out of the trees' shadows, his long dark hair almost covering one eye. "It's Avid." This girl was really jumpy, Avid kept his hands up in a sign of surrender, he'd never met a human with reflexes like hers. Although, when compared to him she moved like a awkward teenager, she was still remarkably graceful.

"Are you following me?" Daisy deadpanned, doing her best to monitor the situation in the clearing without turning her back to Avid. Although he seemed like a good person, she couldn't take any chances. She may have spared his life once, but he was still working for the Alpha. She could feel the cool metal of a V-42 in her boot, but opted to pull out the pistol in her belt. This way she could shoot the Alpha if need be, or Avid if it came to that.

"I'm sorry, but you've got to listen to me." Avid took a step forward, and Daisy took one back. His face twisted into disappointed agony as he tried to plead with her.

Zeke held the human firmly on his knees in front of him, the smell of sweet meat drifting towards him from the humans in front of them. His head tilted to the side, suppressing his fangs at the mouthwatering scent; he hasn't eaten in days. The Latina girl with the brown eyes moved towards him as Theo walked to hand over the necklace. She gazed steadly at him, mouth set in a straight line as she hoisted Eric's arm over her shoulder, steadily backing away when she had a firm grip on the body.

Staring into the eyes of the Alpha, Elijah could understand Daisy's obsession with getting to fully understand them. The man in front of him was dangerous, but at the same time, he remembered, according to Daisy and Opal, that he was capable of affection and love as well. He'd abandon his chance to kill the two girls to get the werewolf Avid to safety, something Theo was grateful for. He could only hope that Leon wasn't above fairness and honesty. There was no reason for any more blood to be spilt, even though as the war wore on, it seemed that only werewolves were bleeding for their cause. Leon had far more to lose here than the Hunters did, and he knew it.

Birds took to the air, shaking weak leaves into their hair as they spread their wings. Eric let out a moan as Maly shifted him to put less weight on her shoulders.

"Rest easy now, Eric, we've got you." Maly couldn't see the poor boy's eyes as his shoulders began to shake. He let out a laugh.

Blinking slowly, Maly was on her back, and her side felt really warm. Air wouldn't gather in her lungs as she breathed in, her body didn't respond to her. Eric was standing over her, a toothy, maniacal grin split his face as his entire eye; the sclera, pupil, and all turned a macabre orange.


	10. Man behind the Text

Reaching down, Eric plucked Maly off the ground like a speck of dirt, holding her high above his head with one hand. He could feel her every breath between his fingers as his hold on her neck squeezed her throat. A chuckle spilled from his lips. Never had he occupied a vessel quite like this one. This boy was young and fit, his body was handling the strain of holding a demon rather well, for a mortal.

"The hell," Elijah moved his gun to Eric, forgetting about the werewolves entirely. Eric was possessed, and here he was without any holy water, or even a damn rosary to ward the thing off. He knew for a fact that they didn't set any traps for a demon either, so that wasn't an option.

Theo grunted as the Alpha's hand swiped out at him, claws tearing through the fabric of his jacket as his skin was nicked. It was chaos; Maly was choking, the others were all aiming at Eric, save for Opal who's gun was still trained on the werewolves. Something must have happened to Daisy, she hadn't made a move yet, then again, she might be holding back due to the unseen turn of events. Theo guessed that she could more than likely see Eric's eyes and didn't want to cause any more confusion by firing shots.

"You demonic son of a bitch," Elijah didn't budge as the vibrant orange eyes shot towards him, a wild grin on Eric's face as the demon's eyes seemed bigger.

"Never have I met a mortal with such a vulgar mouth." Eric's voice was deeper, words smoothly falling from his lips as Maly's struggle dulled, eyes falling shut as she passed out. Eric opened his fingers, letting her body fall to the ground with a soft thud. "Although," Eric fully turned to face the team, the sun fully breaching over the horizon behind him, "the mortals I usually meet don't live long enough to say more than a few words."

Leon smirked as he held up the second necklace in his hand; Theo's wide eyes trained directly on him as he held it up to the light. Shit, when had the Alpha swiped it from him? Theo was sure that the necklace was secured around his hands; he didn't even feel it slip from his fingers!

"Alpha, what's,"

"Don't worry about it Zeke, my friend," Leon interrupted his worried subordinate, with a glance, "Everything is going to be just fine." Zeke's eyes darted nervously between his Alpha, the possessed Hunter and the forest. This was way above his ranking. Werewovles and demons don't work together, yet here this demon was, and his Alpha seemed to have no qualms about it.

"I see you've met my boy," Eric turned to Leon, eyeing the necklace with glee, "I've employed many fine young werewolves in my day, but none blossomed as well under my tutelage as young Leon Stranger." The demon's eyes shifted back to Elijah, taking a step backwards towards Leon.

"Because that doesn't sound gay at all," Elijah drawled out slowly, the sound of the forest silenced in the presence of the disgusting being in front of him. Quietly making his way towards Opal, Theo felt the wind ghost over his jacket. This must have been It; the things he said, the power that gushed out of those eyes, there was no one else it could be. It was annoyingly clear that this demon was on another level, nothing like he'd ever seen before. Now, as it inhabited Eric's body, Theo felt a wave of agony wash over him. Beings this powerful rarely left their host bodies alive once they evacuated the person. There was a strong possibility that Eric would die, and yet, there was no way for them to kill the demon at the moment to avenge him.

"Oh Elijah, you've always been such a jokester," The demon stood a step in front of the werewolves, "Just like your old man. He says hi by the way," The demon watched as the mounting anger in Elijah's eyes blazed forward, "Well he would, if he wasn't to busy crying like a little bitch."

Elijah's nostrils flaired, body shifting as he moved forward. A hand shot up in front of him, fingers gripping into his shirt, and he looked down at Savannah. "Don't fly off the handle. He's baiting you." Her gun was steady, eyes gazing through the demon's sickening orange eyes as he cocked his head to the side; Eric's brown hair flowing with the motion.

"Ah, I see now," The demon chuckled humorlessly, eyes sweeping over the Hunters, "Smart move," he mumbled, throwing his arms wide apart and bowing slightly, "It seems that it's my move now, children. Leon," The werewolves stiffed, "gather your brother, we're leaving."

"My broth," Leon paused, before a snarl tore across his face, teeth gritting and eyes wide, "Avid!" The yell was dark and sinister, Avid and Daisy freezing in their place.

Daisy kept her gun trained on Avid as he walked backwards. "What's going on over there?" Moving forward, Daisy kept Avid in her eyesight. Something was very wrong with Eric, and the werewolves were apart of it, "Did you change Eric?" God she hoped she was wrong; she couldn't bear the thought of sweet, goofy Eric as a creature of the night, "Is he werewolf now?"

Catching her gaze, he gave her an apologetic smile, "You're friend is no werewolf."

"Avid, get out here now!" Avid's smile dropped instantly as his brother's voice cut through he silence.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to go get yelled at now." Keeping his eyes on the gun, Avid attempted to move around Daisy, keeping his hands exposed and giving her enough space to feel secure.

"Wait," Daisy watched as a flash of annoyance washed over him, but she couldn't resist. It didn't make sense; even when looking at Avid from a clear view, she could not understand why he was still alive. He'd concealed her, allowed her to kill his pack mates, and yet he was still alive. There was no reason why the pack should not have killed him, he'd betrayed them time and time again, yet he still was free to do as he pleased. Perhaps it was because he was young, he didn't know how to act so the Alpha let him off easy, but still that was unlikely. At the very least they should have quarantined him like a naughty child. But he had called the Alpha brother, did he mean brothers of the pack, or brothers by blood?

"Not now! I'm already neck deep in trouble, Daisy, I don't want to go under completely." Avid gave her one last look, before sprinting out into the field, all eyes turned to him. Lowering her gun, Daisy's red hair felt heavy against her neck, as the Alpha backhanded Avid, making him crumble to the floor before yanking the boy up by the collar of his shirt and dragging him away, the other werewolf following. Eric smiled in her direction, and the obscene orange eyes turned her skin to gooseflesh as he nodded and walked away from the group, grass burning under his feet with every fluid step.

The sky was so blue. There wasn't a single cloud; but something was wrong. It was silent, too silent for such an isolated part of the forest. Maly's side felt hot and gooy as she slowly took in air through her nose. The air felt like water; warm, earthy, unfiltered water, and it was the best thing she ever experienced. Trying to sit up, Maly could feel arms supporting her. God, her side burned and the goo was starting to feel more like pulp. Dark hair covered her face as Maly was surrounded by long pale arms. Was Opal hugging her? Maly groaned as her words came out in an incoherent jumbled heap, she didn't feel like being hugged.

"She's losing to much blood, we need to get her to a hospital." Who's voice was that? Maly's eyelids became heavy as the world began to tilt off balance. There were so many voices, saying so many things, but she couldn't hear any of it. Why couldn't she hear anything. Groaning, Maly felt intense pressure being applied to her side; that's right, she'd been sliced by Eric. No, it was the demon, the demon in Eric's body sliced her.

Theo's phone vibrated in his pocket, momentarily distracting everyone as they expertly moved the fallen Maly to the back of the truck, Savannah still steadily applying pressure to the wound. Pulling his phone out, he quickly unlocked the screen, the phone almost dropping from his hand as he saw the number.

Quickly clicking on the mail icon, Theo's eyes impatiently waited for the message to load on his screen. There were two pictures. One was of a plain looking women, but he looked again and around her neck was the bronzite necklace, the symbol of It. The other picture was of man sitting in a vinyard, imposing mountains in the distance, and around his neck was the necklace. Finally there were two names.

"Theo," Daisy leaned slightly out the back window, her braid slightly unraveled, "come on!" The boy blinked before jogging over and squeezing into the back seat of the mustang as Elijah floored the car. Grass was torn from the ground as the mustang easily caught up with Opal's truck. Unconsciously fiddling with the torn bit of his jacket, Theo's mind rolled along with the car.

Those two people in the picture were another piece of the puzzle, and the man from the text wanted them to go do the job. But why? If the man knew who the people were, then he must have an idea of what they are and how to beat them. So why not take care of it himself, or why not provide the group with more information? Obviously the man in the text did not feel the need to rush them as he only texted them once or twice every few days. Yet, it always seemed that he texted them at the most convenient of times, such as when they finished a job or where in a pinch. Was he watching them somehow? Unlikely, Savannah covered their tracks extremely well, and Elijah was paranoid enough to notice if they were being watched.

So, perhaps the man had an informant? Probable, but who? Eric was an obvious choice, but he was compromised, and yet the man still knew exactly when to text him in order not to interrupt their confrontation. Savanna was a high chance as well; she was often on her phone, very secretive with it's contents, and in theory had the least consistent story of how she became a hunter. While she claimed to have her first encounter when she was teaching in Africa, she never mentioned a teacher or some sort to explain how she was familiar with killing different types of beings. She knew nothing of the nature of the beings she killed, which should have gone hand in hand with her teaching. Theo jerked as the car came to a rough stop and melted into the frenzy as his teammates tried to get Maly into the E.R. But then again, why would the man sent someone so inexperienced to work with a team that was tasked with, what appeared to be, an important mission? To garner less attention? But what motive did she have? Savannah had no tragic family story. Sure her parents spent most of her childhood deployed for the military, but Savannah didn't seem to effected by it. Also, Savannah froze up often during fights with the werewolves, which is counterproductive in completing the mission. The girl was spectacular against ghost and spirits, but werewolves caused her problems.

Sitting down in one of the foldable chairs in the waiting room, Theo tried to get comfy. Daisy was just as suspicious as Savannah, if not more so. Daisy had a multitude of teachers, most of which were hunters unknown to everyone in the group. It was an acceptable deduction to think that the man in the text was one of her unknown teachers, and she was following orders. That was something amazing about Daisy; her loyalty. It was obvious in everything she did, after all, they only got involved because Daisy requested the team helped out her some of her old mentors with a werewolf problem. Many hunters would have just ignored the call, despite the saying of loyalty between hunters, in general, hunters were reclusive and selfish. She could have simply ignored the request, but she didn't. However, Daisy was also just a really nice person. Then again, she understood the importance of their missions, and willingly wanted to stop what they were doing in order to help with something as common as werewolves. She could have requested Maly and Opal to ask someone else. It was obvious they had multiple contacts for this problem, not to mention, Texas was a hotspot for international hunters, possessing one of the ten biggest bars designated for discreet hunter headquarters. They could have wrangled up a group from the bar and taken care of the problem easily; Daisy knew that. In contrast to Savannah, Daisy was well trained, had multiple contacts willing to help her, and was an obedient yet capable soldier. Plus her sweet nature and seemingly absent minded appearance made her appear to be a minimal threat, meaning she would be under the least amount of suspicion in theory. That made her the most likely candidate to work undercover.

Elijah was easily dismissed from the list. He may have been a private person when concerning his personal life, but he was blunt in his intentions. He was driven by nothing more than a desire for revenge, justice, and freedom. If nothing else, Elijah was just as clueless about the mystery man as Theo, and therefore, the only member of the team that could be fully trusted.

When the sun rose the next morning, Theo waited patiently for Elijah, leaning heavily on the mustang. Dust mixed with the wind and grinded across his face in the burning rays, but Theo still wore his jacket, fingering his cell phone in the pocket.

Elijah loudly slammed the door shut behind him, flipping his keys in his fingers before taking notice of Theo. "Stop sitting on my car."

"I'm not sitting," Theo defended lazily, slipping into the car as Elijah unlocked the doors. Shifting in his seat, Theo tried to ignore the miffed looked Elijah tossed his way as the engine rumbled. The car shook lightly as they pulled out of the parkway and to the diner. The ride was silent, the trees and off white houses glazed passed the window. Heavy bags hung on both faces, while Elijah's usually hostile scowl was replaced by a tired frown.

"So did you pull me out here for male bonding time, or are you going to tell me what you want?" The coffee burned going down his throat, bitterness swimming across Elijah's scorched tongue. Theo rubbed the side of his mug, patiently waiting for the liquid to cool as he added in unheard of amounts of cream; ignoring Elijah's disgusted look.

"Elijah," Theo needed to be careful with his words, he couldn't have Elijah blowing a fit, "why are you here?"

"Because your dumb ass woke me up at seven in the fucking morning because you wanted pancakes." Elijah smirked as an attractive waitress walked by, her dark green dress too short to be appropriate for work.

"Ok," Theo breathed slowly, after all, he did kind of set himself up for that one, "As much as I love your sarcasm, I meant why are you on this team. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy you're here. You've saved my life more times than I know."

"Six, I've saved your life six times," Elijah muttered, holding up six fingers in front of his face as Theo nodded.

"Yeah, and I'm grateful, but I just need to know what your doing following orders from some anonymous stranger. You don't even seem like the type to take orders from teacher." Theo moved his mug out of the way as the waiter, far less attractive than the one before, set a large plate of pancakes in front of him, making him inhale the sweet scent that was right under his nose.

"That's because my teacher was a bitch." Elijah shoved a lump of his omlette into his mouth and chewed quickly, "Why're you so interested in my personal life anyway, nerd, its not like we were ever chummy before."

"I have a theory,"

"Oh god, don't you start that shit!" Elijah's fork paused inches from his face as he glared at Theo, but the younger male just kept calmly eating his pancakes. Elijah let out a sigh, putting his fork back down, "I don't care what theory you have, or why it involves me, but I'm here for the same reason you are."

"Exploration of the supernatural world and the innovation of more modern and advanced ways to deal with its hostile creatures?"

"What? No! I'm here to do my job. I come, I kill, I leave. That's it." Elijah waved the waitress away as she came to check on them, her grin to wide and voice too high. Theo let out a soft laugh, pushing the empty plate away from him.

"And that's exactly why you're the only one I can trust." It was a whisper, something so low Elijah only heard the last word, but still understood the message. Leaning back in his seat, Elijah crossed his chest, and nodded for Theo to continue. Pulling his phone from his jacket, Theo flipped to the latest message and slid the phone across the counter without hesitation. "I got that seconds before we took off with Maly for the hospital yesterday."

"So, who are they? Hue Pham and, uh, Daniel Dupont?" Elijah carefully took in each picture, easily spotting the necklaces with a touch of bitterness. After all, they'd lost the one they gained from the ghost to the damn Alpha. "They work for our demon friend."

"Yes. Hue Pham was born in Vietnam during 1998, and moved to the New Jersey when she was thirteen. Got a job when she was sixteen and was on accepted and registered to attend University of Maryland, but disappeared July of 2018, just a month before she was supposed to go to school. The other one, Daniel Dupont was from Maine. I couldn't find anything signigicant about his childhood, but,"

"Did you check his facebook?" Elijah's eyes were glued to the screen, "because apparently the guy had a thing for himself. All his post are selfies and updates on his skin care regiment," He paused for a moment, "I feel really girly just saying those words."

"Back to the point, his grandfather was a hunter, so I used a favor to find him. Seems like Daniel went missing around the same time Hue did. I don't know what they have in common, but I think he wants us to leave the werewolf job and move on to these."

"But the werewolves still have the necklace, two actually, so he wants us to abandon two to find two? I don't know, seems like the only thing we gain is a huge gas bill and utter humiliation in front of the entire hunting family." Elijah snorted, "And why the fuck did you not feel it necessary to tell everyone this? I don't want to listen to this again!"

Theo bit his lip and drummed his fingers heavily on the table, letting out a heavy sigh. "I grew up in a very religious family; roman catholic like most Italians. When I was nineteen my father got really sick, so my mother called me back home to help keep the auto shop going with my older brothers. Turns out my father was possessed, and we got a visit from a pair of priest," Theo put up air quotes around the final word, "and my mom let them perform an excrosism on him. Turns out he was, in fact, possessed. He did live through it, but after that I started researching on my own, got in touch with the priest before they skipped town and learned a thing or two about the trade."

"That," Elijah blinked, noticing that Theo was done, "That did not answer any part of my question."

"My point is, we became hunters for reasonable reasons. You for revenge and release, and me for revenge and knowledge. The foundation of all hunters is revenge; it's a common trait we all share, a drive in each person. I hate to say it, but that's exactly the reason I can't fully trust the intentions of Savannah or Daisy. Neither one has a plausible reason to be in this business. No one just realizes monsters are real and frolics off to kill them, that's insane. Daisy's brother was saved, he never died, Daisy had no reason to keep digging; yet she did. And Savannah's encounter with the Abze is inconsistent. I'm worried we're being followed. After all the man seems to know the most convenient moments to text us, always right after we finish a job, or when we're in a rut he's there to lead us to the next step. We're not being followed, therefore, he has to have someone supplying him with information of our activity." Theo gulped in air, his toungue dry from talking so quickly. Elijah just raised an eyebrow at him and nodded slowly.

"So basically, because this guy has super convenient timing, you think that either Savannah or Daisy is conspiring against us. Despite the fact that both have saved you in the past, damn, you get saved a lot don't you?" Elijah barely chewed his bacon before he swallowed, already dipping the next piece in his syrup. "Yeah, sorry Theo, but this theory's a bit to complex for me. Who gives a shit if they're informing the guy about what we're doing, its not like its hurting anyone."

"I do, I mean," Theo paused, debating on ordering another set of pancakes, "don't you want to know who this is? Why he's having us do the work without telling us exactly what's going on? God, he's like a Craigslist for hunters, he post job openings and we just take them without. Things like that don't happen to hunters."

"Let me ask you something," Elijah locked eyes with Theo, "If you're so suspicious of this thing why did you join in the first place. Didn't any of these questions come to your mind when you first got in the car?"

"Didn't you?" Theo snapped irritably.

"Yes, but my suspicion of a text message was outweighed by my job to take down as many evil bastards as possible." Elijah growled, anger etching lines onto his face, "This guy with providing me with job after job for weeks before I met up with you. He never gave me anything I couldn't handle before and I saw no reason to doubt him now. Why do you?"

"Because it doesn't make sense!"

"Then leave, I'm not stopping you, hell, if the girls heard the entire case you have on them, I'm sure they wouldn't stop you either!" They were silent as the waitress slipped the check on the table without a word, clearly she noticed the argument taking place.

"I can't just leave now that Eric's being possessed! I need to help him!"

"Like you helped him at the mansion? Oh wait, I'm sorry, you didn't help him, you abandon him! Seems like all of your plans lately have been getting people hurt, brainiac." Elijah laughed, arrogance coloring his tone. Theo gave him a dirty look, and lowered his voice. There were far more people than when they first sat down.

"I'm not here to argue with you Elijah," Elijah frowned at the dark tone in Theo's voice, "All I'm asking is that you help me figure out who's calling the shots, and if we have a turncoat in the group, that's all."

"Sounds like a big deal to me," Elijah scoffed, but raised his glass, "But what the hell, I always love a good mystery story. Let's unmask the bastard."

White colored their vision, reds and oranges danced across their bodies as the bar exploded with a deafening bang.

* * *

**A/N:**

**I'm very sorry that I've been skipping the Thursday updates, but lately I feel that the quality of my work is declining. Therefore, I will only update on Sundays to make sure that I get out a good quality chapter. **

**Also, is there anything in the story that's unclear? Anything you wish to happen, or wish didn't happen? Please let me know!**

**Finally, has anyone else in these past few week had trouble with this cite? I have had trouble uploading documents, and leaving reviews on other stories. I also stopped getting email updates, even though i reset the setting a hundred times. Anyone else experiencing problems?**

**See you next Sunday.**


	11. North and South

Daisy painstakingly rebraided her hair as Theo refilled the newly acquired vehicle before they took off. It was frizzier than usual today, and it wasn't even humid outside. Her arms started to ache as Theo scrambled back into the driver's seat, and decided to throw it up in a messy ponytail instead of trying to fight with it.

"Does the air conditioning go any higher in this car?" Daisy fumbled with the air dial, loose strands brushing against the back of her neck as Theo started the engine.

"Um, yeah, but its broken," Pulling out of the gas station, Theo flipped down the sun visor. Leaning back loudly in her seat, Daisy scratched a mosquito bite on her shoulder.

"If we were going to boost a car, Elijah should have grabbed one with a working air conditioner. This car is junk." A text came from her brother, and Daisy quickly replied, reassuring him that she was having a good time with her new team. Seems he and his three best friends were taking a trip to California to go surfing. A small smile brightened up her face, her brother always wanted to try surfing, it was nice to hear him accomplishing his dream. Even if it was a small dream, it was still a dream.

"Hey, be nice to her," Theo whined, "She's a 2004 Chrysler 300M, Daisy. She might be a bit on the rough side now, but wait until I fix her up! She'll be the sweetest thing you ever did see!" Theo patted the steering wheel tenderly, a pleased grin on his face as Daisy burst out a laugh.

"Aww, Theo, I know once you and Elijah finish making the car up, it'll be beautiful, but there were so many better cars in that lot. Why not just pick that's already in great condition?" Daisy resisted the urge to giggle as Theo gapped at her like a fish, eyes wide and mouth even wider.

"Because then its not my car! Trust me Daisy, there's nothing more satisfying than fixing up something that's been thrown away and making it yours. Besides," Theo got a sentimental look in his eye, "We're going to Massachusetts, so I'm hoping to stop by my families garage. I can use the supplies there and check in on my mother."

"Don't have much faith in your big brothers, I see." Daisy closed her eyes for a moment, dreaming of her own family. Her freckle faced, exuberant older brother and her lively parents who never left the honey moon stage. How she missed them, but she hadn't seem them in almost a year, she didn't even go home for Christmas.

"It's not that," Theo gave a nervous laugh, "I love my brothers, the goofballs, but they're not all that responsible, so my mom's always preaching at them. They're going to give her a heart attack one day if I don't give her a break every now and then."

"My big brother is the same way! He's always getting into all sorts of trouble. He means well, but things just never seem to go the way he plans them!" The two laughed as they cruised along. However, the smile soon fell from Daisy's face. "Theo?"

"Hm?"

"Are you sure we're doing the right thing by just leaving town like this? Maly and Opal can't finish the job by themselves, and I feel bad just leaving a job before its finished, you know?" Daisy whispered as she looked down at her hands. This was the first time she left a job unsuccessful in a long time, and it stung. Not so much her pride, but her conscience. The two girls were her mentors, and she left them in a very unfavorable situation back there without a reasonable explanation. Theo had a explanation that sounded understandable, but it wasn't enough.

The werewolves were still running wild; by leaving the Hunter's were unofficially surrendering the town to them. Opal and Maly wouldn't be able to stay in the area for long, Maly was weakened and Opal would have to defend them alone. More than likely they'd go to Austin for help and shelter, Daisy would text them later to see how they were fairing.

"They'll be fine," Theo knew he sounded less than convincing. "We had the perfect opportunity to get out of town detected, Daisy. Hell, they think me and Elijah are dead." The noise from the explosion still made his ears ring, but other than a few scratches, singe marks on his jacket, and a gross burn on his lower leg and cheek, Theo managed to escape the blast.

"What are they going to do when they don't find the bodies?" Daisy's tone was serious, but Theo shrugged.

"Realize that they've been played and start looking for us, but I doubt they'll give chase once they realize we left the city. If anything they'll celebrate their victory." They fell into a silence, the radio cutting to commercial.

The sun beat down on the black hood of the mustang. Cars blurred in the window as the speed topped ninety miles per hour. Old nineties rock music blaring through the leather seats as the car shivered under the bass. Elijah leaned back in his seat, weaving though traffic without a care with a single hand on the wheel. Savannah sat in the passenger seat, legs crossed as she leaned towards the window, stiffing with each sharp movement of the car. As the traffic thinned out, Elijah lowered the speed and put on cruise control; Savannah turned down the music, returning Elijah's pissed look with one of equal sass.

"Bitch," Elijah muttered, switching hands as he right became stiff. Birds soared overhead as they passed the boarder into Oklahoma. Blue with a single splash of red in the shape of the state, the Oklahoma sign was one of the most disappointing sights on their road trip for two.

"Tell me why we just up and left in the middle of a job again?" The southern drawl in Savannah's tone was rather strong today Elijah noted, cursing as the road turned into a single lane street.

"What, Theo's explanation to difficult for ya?" Amusement laced every word, and Savannah couldn't resist a small smile as she rolled her eyes.

"No, I just can't understand why we're going to leave Opal and Maly to finish a job they can't handle alone, especially now that Maly's injured. Doesn't make any good sense to me." Savannah muttered, ignoring the vibrating in her phone for once. "And why do we have to split up anyway. I get that finding those two people from the text is top prority, but wouldn't it be safer to handle it together as a team?"

"Theo says that speed is priority here. He tracked them down to separate sides of the country, if we go after one as a group we'll lose the other." Elijah yawned, turning on his window wipers as a random rain hurled down on the car. "Don't you like being stuck in a car with me for almost a thousand miles?"

"I'd rather be with Daisy," Savannah leaned back in her chair, the harsh patter of rain on the roof of the car drowning out the low music.

"Well sorry, cupcake, but you're stuck with me." Elijah happily let them fall into a comfortable silence.

After Maly was released from the hospital, Theo debriefed them on the new targets, and after strong resistance from Daisy, they decided to leave the werewolf problem with Opal and Maly. The girls planned to gather up a bar full of hunters and launch a massive counterstrike; with any luck they'd find a minimum of twenty people to help out. While Savannah and Elijah traveled north to Indiana to find Daniel, Daisy and Theo headed to Massachusetts for Hue.

It just didn't add up to Savannah. They left Texas, where the demon was, where the demon inside of Eric was. Why in the world would the boys want to just leave Eric's body in the possession of a ultra powerful demon? Wasn't Elijah ready to raise hell to go get Eric back? He didn't seem to even hesitate when Theo suggested that they leave the state, in fact, he almost seemed ready for the proposal.

"We could just turn around and go back you know," Savannah rubbed her hands on her jeans, back straight as the wind hurled rain towards her window, her voice was soft. "Help out Maly and Opal, save Eric."

"Ok, bitch, if you're going to try and convince me to do something, there better be food or booze involved." Elijah varied from looking at her to the road, "And the answer is no, you heard Theo, we got to get this bastard before he disappears for another two years." Savannah was silent for a minute.

"So basically you're saying, fuck Eric." Savannah knew she was being unreasonably difficult, but she needed to know what Elijah really thought about abandoning Eric. He seemed pretty pissed at Theo for doing it at the mansion to save the kids, but he wasn't even putting up a fight now.

She personally liked Eric the most out of the boys, and it was a blow to her pride to leave the town defeated without him. Not only had they failed to finish the job, they left with more problems than they arrived with. Now they were missing a key member of their team, and they managed to lose the only item that could kill It, to It himself, who was actually a demon with freaky orange eyes. Wonderful.

"No!"

"That's exactly what you just said! You said that the job takes priority over an individual, ok, I see how it is now." Savannah crossed her arms over her chest, "Damn I hate this, and I know you do too, man." Elijah was silent, so she kept pushing, " He's got a younger brother you know, I think his name was Andrew."

"Yeah, he was adopted by another family up in Boston." Elijah felt his stomach growl lightly, they'd have to stop for food soon, "Eric used to call him almost every night." Raising an eyebrow, Savannah hummed slightly. Who knew Elijah was actually paying attention to Eric.

"Poor boy, now he really is an orphan." The life of a Hunter wasn't too different from that of a military kid, Savannah realized, your family could be called off at any time, only contact through a machine, and they could die on the job at any moment. Any day a man could walk up on your front porch with a perfectly folded flag in his arms, and that's it. Only, hunter kids didn't get a flag, or nice words, they just got a phone call if they were lucky enough, maybe a brief visit if their family was well liked enough.

"Don't talk like that, Eric's not dead," Savannah gave him a deadpanned stare, "He's just trapped, in his mind, by a, crazy, powerful, de," Elijah cut her off.

"He's dead, no way a demon that strong leaves the vessel alive once he takes off." Blunt as usual, Savannah closed her eyes lightly, "Hell, Theo wasn't even sure how he even managed to squeeze inside Eric, that much power should have blasted Eric to bits the moment the demon tried wiggling his way in."

"Oh so we're hunting, oh excuse me, running from, a demon so powerful that he can't even squeeze all his evilness into a single body. Great, that's beautiful."

"Ok, you know what, I'm done with your sarcasm! I'm driving, and driver says no talking, bitch!" Elijah turned the music up as high as possible, and Savannah turned it back down.

"You know, we've know each other for months and I don't think you've ever called me by my name." Elijah could hear the slightly hostile tone in her voice, great, she was annoyed with him. Fun times. Well, at least they were on a different topic.

"I don't like your name," He said bluntly, and she scoffed, rubbing a finger over her earing, so Elijah elaborated, "It doesn't fit you. Savannahs are all delicate and school girls and then you're all chill and sassy. You're to good for such a prissy name."

Warmth spread across Savannah's heart as a smile stretched across her face, "Hm, well thank you, Elijah. I think that's the nicest thing I've ever heard you say."

"Whatever, you're still a bitch."

"Love you too, bastard." Elijah's face twitched with disbelief before he scowled, flicking her the middle finger as he slowed down as they approached their first stop light in miles. Savannah laughed, "You can act all you, but I know you like me."

"You're fucking delusional, now shut up before I kick you out of my car!"

Musty, warm air burned with each intake of breath. The excessively dusty floor threw up dirt particles with every shift of his body, each one danced in a flurry in the light. Back pressed against the cold iron door, Avid stretched his legs out in front of him, head tilted up to stare at the vessel with tired red eyes.

"How'd you get in here?" Avid's stomach let out a muffled demand for food, which was ignored. Eric's eyes flashed orange as he aimed a friendly smile at the werewolf, but Avid knew better. This demon was not his friend, and despite what Leon believed, he wasn't their ally either. Never had Avid met a being with such raw hatred and loathing, but then again, he'd never met a demon before either.

"Wouldn't you like to know." The demon let out a scratchy laugh, "I bet you'd just love to get out of here," He looked around the pitifully small room, and whistled "Whooie, you've done it this time, Avie."

"Don't call me that," There was no real power behind his words. The demon could see in Avid's eyes that he was tired, weak, and hopeless. There was no fight left in the boy, how wonderful.

"Ah don't be like that, kiddo." Eric squatted down in front of Avid, teeth gleaming under the yellowy florescent lights. Silence greeted him as Avid tilted his face back down, casting his gaze to the dust waltzing centimeters from the ground. Fluid and dramatic, they swooped low before climbing up towards the ceiling again, dipping and spinning. The demon sighed, his eyes fading back to Eric's light blue eyes. "You know Avid, you're brothers told me a lot of good things about you. You're smart, cunning, fast, but you always try to do what's right. He's so proud of you, his little brother. You've got him worried with your rebellious behavior."

"Don't talk as if you care, you bastard." There was only a slight hint of anger in Avid's voice, most of his tone was colored with exhaustion and apathy. Eric's face turned mockingly concerned.

"Hey now, you should show me a little more respect." Eric's hands slammed against the door, leaving a wide indent next to Avid's head as he trapped the boy between his arms. Eyes wide and his fingers gripping the fabric of his pants, Avid stared fearfully at the demon. "I have no problem putting you in your place since your dear brother can't bare to do it." Avid didn't move an inch as Eric leaned back and stood up before him, offering a hand with a mischievous smile. "Now, now, I'd like to be friend with you, kiddo."

"Why?" The word was stuttered out and Avid cursed himself inwardly as Eric's eyes changed back to orange. Avid was starting to feel very uncomfortable with the way the demon was looking at him, it was the same way werewolves looked at humans moments before biting into their hearts.

"You ever played chess before, Avid? You've got your pawns, your rooks, your bishops, your knights, the queen, and the king. All the chess pieces lined up on two neat, evenly spaced rows." Eric's face turned into a wicked smirk, "I'm setting up my board, but it seems that, over time, all I've gathered up is pawns."

"So that's all my brother is to you, a pawn?" Avid felt his blood heat up, but shoved the feeling back down. He couldn't risk angering the being before him.

"Oh no," Eric waved a hand in front of his face lazily, "You're brother's much more like a knight, a real psychopathic piece. His movements and behaviors are unpredictable, and I have to keep a tight leash on him or he'll just blow up everything."

"No kidding, knights are always a pain in my ass. Does that make you the king in this metaphor?" Avid frowned as Eric waved a finger playfully in front of his face, taunting the younger male.

"Oh no, I am only the lonely hand that moves the pieces across the board. Nothing special, mind you. Now, your brother is my willing knight, ready to attack in the most unappealing positions possible, but I cannot win the game with only a knight. I need you too, Avid; I need a bishop. An. Intelligent. Cautious. Soldier." Eric patted Avid on the head rather roughly with each word, the lighters flickering above them.

"Oi, stop it!" Avid swatted his hand away, gripping the top of his head as his skull throbbed from the pressure of the pats, taking in slow deep breaths he closed his eyes tightly, "No deal, you've got nothing I need."

"No, I suppose not," Eric tapped his chin lightly, "Most people need money, or fame, or murder, but your brother , he needed strength. Needed power, to protect you." The demon got louder, "He sold his soul to me for power; that's what he needed. But, you're right; I have nothing that you need." Pause, "But I have something you really want."

"Unless you can whip up a get out of hell free card, I don't think so." Avid's arms slipped back down to his sides. That wasn't entirely a jest; Avid wasn't a fool. All werewolves go to hell to become hellhounds, it's a terrifying reality. To know he was going to become a mindless, obedient beast for demons; what he wouldn't do to escape that fate. Of course, since they, in theory, could like forever unless killed, many werewolves didn't bother themselves with the fact, but Avid knew he wouldn't live forever. His brother would get them both killed first, so he'd really like some kind of guarantee that their fate wouldn't be black shadowy monsters.

"Aww, is the little puppy afraid of a little heat?" Eric took two steps back from Avid and hummed lightly, "Sorry kid, I can't do that, you're going to the pit one day no matter what."

"Then I guess there's nothing else to talk about,"

"Slow down there, kid. I said it was impossible to save you from the pit, I never said I couldn't stop you from becoming one of hell's pitbulls." Avid blinked slowly, but said nothing; but Eric knew he had his full attention. Avid was sharp, and seemed to hate being locked up, so knowing that one day he'd be a mindless servant must have been maddening for the kid. All the demon had to do was dangle a way out over his head and…

"How?"

That's what he thought. Eric's grin split wide enough to expose teeth.

"Don't you worry about that, kiddo, you just leave it to me." Eric fully turned back to face Avid, glee in every fluid movement. "So, we got a deal?"

"No," Eric's smile fell, "you said my stupid brother made a deal with you too right? I don't want him to become a hellhound either, promise me that and I'll obey."

"Ha!" Eric let out a loud, dry laugh, sighing loudly, "Brothers are always so dependent on one another. Its rather pathetic." Eric chuckled, "But sorry kid, no can do. Your brother made his deal; power and strength for his service as a hellhound when he dives into the pit. Now if I don't make him a hellhound, what do I get, hmm?" Eric walked back towards Avid, getting in his face again, hands pressing Avid's legs harshly into the floor, "What can you offer me?"

The demon was playing with him. He knew what Avid could offer him, but he just wanted to hear it from Avid's lips. Avid always heard of stories of how sadistic and vicious demon's were, but this just proved those stories. Pursing his lips with a glare, Avid looked a way and mumbled.

"Oh, what's that," Eric whined in a happy tune, "I didn't catch that." Avid's head snapped up quickly and he bared his teeth. The demon had to hold in a gleeful squeal, this boy was shaping up to be everything he wanted.

"I can do the sealing ceremony for you! There I said it, happy now!" Avid felt wetness tickle in the back of his eyes. Damn he didn't want to do anything to help this scumbag, but for his brother's soul and for his own, he would endure, "If you can keep my brother and I from turning into hellhounds if, when, we go hell then I'll seal you into that body forever." Eric smiled, eyes a deep orange as he leaned even closer, nose brushing Avid's forehead.

"Deal."

* * *

**A/N:**

**I've been talking with a friend, and decided that there is enough wiggle room in the storyline for me to do things like develop pairings. Is that something you guys would like to see? I never planned for it, but i think this would be a good chance to practice writing romantic relationships. Either way its up to you guys, so what do you think? Are there any specific pairing you guys favor?**


	12. And so it begins

The smell of pasta and tomato sauce filled the house as a mother scooped a reasonable helping onto each of her sons' plates. Giving a small smile as they began to inhale the food, she glanced at the green clock on the microwave; her husband was supposed to be home almost three hours ago.

She'd already called him, only to receive his voicemail each and every time. Worry settled in her gut, what if he was in trouble, or dead? Or worse, what if he was cheating? Taking a deep breath she joined her two boys at the table, stressing wasn't going to change anything. Her husband was a loyal man, and a strong one. More than likely he'd gotten caught up at the lab, finally finishing identifying the bones collected from his last archeological trip. Lips turning up into a smile, she took a bite out of her plate, making small talk with her children about their day. Patrick had started a major group project in his Honors Government class, and, to his disappointment, got paired with two underachieving boys meaning he would be carrying the brute of the load. Conner had a few new students come to his class before recess, a pair of identical twins.

The door clicked open, and in strode her husband, giant grin on his face and a plain brown sack under his arm. Conner jumped up to hug him, and she followed suit; giving him a pointed smile before setting him a place at the table. Patrick animatedly started questioning his father's day at work, stealing glances at the overly stuffed brown sack.

"And you know what, honey," She returned to her seat as her husband paused to address her, "do you remember Ronald Wakefield?"

"Wasn't he the Archeologist you went to graduate school with?" She took a sip of her drink, "The one with the really high voice, and no textbooks?" Her husband gave a sharp nod, pulling the brown bag on the table.

"That's him, he just got back from Italy and brought me this!" With a dramatic flare of his arm, the husband hoisted a circular pendent from the bag, it was about the size of a newborns head, with hints of discoloration and water damage across the surface; he couldn't have been happier. The wife gave a weak smile, although the thing was hideous and clashed horribly with their décor, she could only mumble sweet praises to her husband.

The table was cleared and the children put in bed, the wife switched off the bathroom light and made her way to bed, knees cracking loudly as she crawled beside her husband and closed her eyes, another day finished. His back was to her as he laid on his side, oblivious as he sank deeper into sleep.

There was a groan as the bathroom door opened, and the wife sat up with a frown; she'd have to get her husband to fix that when he woke up in the morning. She didn't bother waking him now, he'd been exhausted after dinner; with a small smile she rose from the bed and shut the door with a click before quietly returning to bed. Pulling the comforter to her chest, the wife frowned and patted the off white bedding with her hand, it was wet. Scooting to a sitting position, the wife peeled the cover back slightly and saw a dark spot.

Dread creped up her spine as her eyes traveled to her husband's body and she gently laid a hesitant hand on his shoulder before giving a slight tug. He fell onto his back, and his intestines flopped onto her thigh with a nauseating squelch. Her breath caught in her throat as his open mouth poured blood, looking as if his tongue was crudely ripped out. Her skin felt cold, and she let out a scream as her head rotated one hundred and eighty degrees to the left.

The smell of syrup and old people mingled above their heads as Savanna's brown eyes looked through the menu for the third time. Elijah stared in disbelief as she flipped back to the front page; the waitress setting down his coffee in front of him before setting down Savanna's orange juice. The eatery was pleasantly crowded, just enough people to have a nice background mummer, but not enough to back up the kitchen.

"Are you two ready to order?" The waitress tucked the carrier tray under her arm, not needing a pad to take two orders. Opening her mouth to ask for more time, Elijah plucked the menu from her hands and snapped it shut.

"She'll have the French toast with sausage, and I'll have the country special." Elijah flashed a devilish grin at the waitress as he handed her the menus, chuckling when her tanned face flushed to a deep pink as she scurried back to the kitchen.

"You're shameless." Savannah sighed dramatically, lazily opened up the complementary newspaper from the hotel, adamantly looking for the comics, "and don't order for me again."

Ignoring the last quip, Elijah took a gulp of his drink and set the cup down, "There's nothing shameless about going after what you want." He defended as a couple occupied the booth behind Savannah. Elijah gave the tall girl a quick once over, and gave a nod of respect to lucky bastard who was her boyfriend, who returned it with a smirk.

"Maybe when the thing you want is a job or a car, not a person, you pig." Oblivious to the exchange, Savannah's eyes paused over one of the minor headlines.

"Isn't it a bit early for name calling?" Elijah flashed a proud smile when she glared at him in annoyance. He couldn't help but rile her; she was usually so calm and quiet, so it was fun to see how hard he had to push until she got frustrated with him, never angry, but frustrated. Elijah frowned when she took a deep breath, calming herself before she snapped back at him, her eyes still on the disgustingly off white paper. Where the hell was their food?

"I think we might have a job," She handed him one of the headlines, "A couple was found brutally murdered in their home by their youngest son three days ago. The police found no signs of forced entry, no weapons, nothing out of place, and neither of the boys reported anything suspicious."

"So," Elijah dragged the word out, "You wanna check it out?" The waitress returned, her face still burning up as she set her plate down in front of him. As she turned away her addressed her in a sweet tone, "Hey, sweetheart, can you bring me the check too, we're kind of in a rush."

The summer heat was cooling down as the sun began to fall from the highest point in the sky. Squirrels scampered over perfectly manicured lawns and up immaculately trimmed, lush green trees. The dull white picket fence gave the property the good old American charm as Elijah pushed open the gate, straightening the tie on his suit. Walking a step in front of him, Savannah felt her ankles protest the four-inch heels she squeezed into as she rang the doorbell.

"I still can't believe you only have two fake I.D's," Elijah grunted as he glanced behind him at all the cars lined in the driveway, especially the red Aston Martin.

"Well sorry," She grumbled lightly, referring to how they had to drive two hours out to get her a fishing box full of fake personas from one of Elijah's contacts, "I never needed one for anything other than drinking before."

"Whatever, newbie." Elijah straightened up as the door opened to reveal a sickly looking man, the dark purple bags under his eyes were vivid on his pale skin. Easily slipping into the desired persona, Elijah gave the man a weary smile. "Hello sir, I'm Craig Owens and this is my partner Clara Oswald, we're from the Federal Investigations Bureau." Both of the Hunter's flashed their badges, and Savannah resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Elijah's less than creative aliases, thankful that this man was clearly not a fan, because his eyes gained a new life as he invited them in.

"I thought the police department gave up looking for the bastards who did it," He led them to the living room, where they sat on the couch as he sat across from them in a single chair.

"Well, sir, its not that they've given up, its just that the F.B.I now has jurisdiction over this case, and will be taking the lead from now on," Savannah gave the man a reassuring smile, "Now, we know this is a difficult time for you and your family, but we need for you to answer a few of our questions, Mr." Savanna dragged the tittle out.

" Danny, Danny Hall. Samantha is, was, my twin sister." Danny watched as the female detective jotted something down, most likely his name and relation, in her little black spiral notebook.

"Well, Mr. Hall," Elijah's voice was hard, his face is a hard line, "Can you tell us about what you know of the night? In as much detail as possible." The man looked down for a second before clearing his throat.

"I wasn't actually here the night Sammy and Clayton were murdered, only my nephews were, but I heard everything they told the police. Patrick told them that everything was normal, Clayton came home a little later than usual because he ran into an old work buddy, but other than that perfectly normal."

"What about Samantha and Clayton, what was their relationship like?" Savannah pressed as she tried a different route, there was always a clue, she just needed to keep digging.

"Oh, they were just lovely. She adored him, and he could talk about nothing but her and their boys. Never had a problem, I would know, Sammy told me everything." Danny gave them a proud smile as he leaned back in his chair. Elijah and Savannah glanced at each other. So, there was little chance of this being a hex by some witch, Savannah concluded, and mentally crossed it off in her head.

"Did either of them say anything odd before their passing? Flickering lights, scratching in the walls?" Elijah ignored Savannah's wide eyed glance at his bluntness, and Danny gave him a strange look, pursing his lips.

"What the hell does it matter?"

"Just answer the question, Mr. Hall." Savannah's stern gaze made the man calm a bit.

"Not that I know of, and it hasn't been doing anything like that since I've been here." The man was on edge, but they had to push forward.

"Alright then, so Mr. Clayton Ceaser was an archeologist, and Mrs. Samantha Ceaser was a prosecutor for the county. What can you tell us about that?" Savannah tried to pull his attention away from the red herrings thrown by Elijah, and it worked; Mr. Hall nodded his head with a thoughtful look.

"Well, Samantha's been working for the state since she got out of college, almost twenty years. She was phenomenal, you could just see the defense shake in their boots when she walked into the court room. And Clayton, well, Clayton was one of the smartest men I ever knew. He's made some of the most important discoveries of our lifetime, not sure what they were, but I know they were important! In fact, he just got back from a trip in Madagascar about a month ago." The man was rambling, and Elijah was growing frustrated. They were getting nothing useful. He'd give it one last shot before he declared this impromptu interrogation over.

"Did either of them have any enemies, anyone who might want to get back at them for something?" Elijah stared as the man burst out in a hearty laugh.

"Of course they did!" Danny exclaimed with dry humor, "She put hundreds of people behind bars, and he was a highly successful man. Both were both envied and hated for their respective lines of work."

With a final round of random questions, Savannah and Elijah shook Mr. Hall's sweaty hands and returned to the mustang, pulling out of the gated neighborhood towards their little hotel room.

The heavy smell of alcohol and bar food wafted from the kitchen, four men hovering over the newly replaced pool table with loud laughs and friendly barter. The small pub was rather crowded as Opal and Maly sat down at the bar. Shifting slightly in her stool, Maly let out a shaky breath at the throbbing pain in her side, Opal pulling an orange cylinder from her bag and offering it to her injured partner.

"You know I don't like these places, Opal, they're undignified." Maly's voice was low enough for only Opal, to hear, but the bar tender appeared before them, his large muscular body towering over them.

"Hey Opal! What can I get for you ladies today?" His blue eyes watched as Maly gave Opal and accusing look, which Opal only rolled her green eyes to before turning back to the bartender, one of her many contacts.

"Nothing for her Elliot, poor darling is still recovering. But I'll take a Harp Lager, and your help if you're up for a job." Opal gave him a wicked smirk as she winked at him, Elliot gave her a curious look, turning his back to them for a moment as he left to tend to another customer.

"I should have known you'd visit a place like this in your free time." Maly gave Opal a pointed look, "Who was that guy?"

"Elliot Walsh, a hunter I met when I was still traveling with Niko, well he wasn't a hunter back then, but after we saved him and his sister from a vampire they picked up on the trade." A sad smile flickered on Opal's face, "He and his sister own this bar. Tons of hunters come here to trade information and all that good stuff, it's a great place to find allies to fight the Demon and the Alpha."

After fleeing the town, Opal always had a bitter taste in her mouth when she remembered the two beast that managed to run her out of her home. It was shameful, not only did they manage to lose an entire city, they'd lost it with a total of seven hunters, and lost one in the process. Seven hunters should have been more than enough to take down a pack, no matter how big it was.

A glass of frothy golden liquid snapped her out of her thoughts as Elliot placed a glass of water in front of Maly with a friendly smile, which the girl only nodded too.

"Ivory's working the kitchen tonight, but she wanted to know what kind of job you were talking about?" Elliot was the younger brother, and didn't mind taking orders from his older, smarter sister. With hushed tones and cautious glances, Opal quickly filled him in on the situation, watching as his freckled face fell as she came to the end. He took their glasses without a word and vanished behind the swinging door towards the kitchen.

"He seems rather meek for a hunter." Maly noted as a group quietly slipped out the front, leaving a pitiful tip at the table.

"Oh no, Maly, he's a sweetheart really, but a real beast with a shotgun. His sister's just got a good leash on him is all. He follows her around like a dutiful little toy soldier." Maly licked her lips, eyes darting towards the door Elliot disappeared behind. "It's Ivory we're here for. The girl has some pretty powerful friends, just what we need."

"You don't sound to excited about it." The throbbing dulled a bit as Maly pressed a little harder on her side. Opal let out a dry laugh, crossing her legs.

"What can I say, the girl's a bit too much of a mama bear for me." When Maly's eyebrow rose in questioning, Opal elaborated, "Bitch is always trying to read me, doesn't think I'm a good influence on her baby bro."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"She broke his heart, twice" A sharp voice came from behind Maly, and a girl stood there, thin and big blue eyes sharp. She gave Maly a tired smirk, "Guess I'm still holding a grudge."

"Oh can it, Ivory, he got over it, so you do the same." Opal stood up gracefully and walked past the red headed girl to the room in the back, drink in hand. Ivory let out a sigh and gave Maly a tired smile.

"I'm really sorry about that, she just gets under my skin." Ivory stuck her hand out, her stained white apron hanging loosely around her neck, "I'm Ivory, nice to meet you!"

Maly took her hand in a light shake, "I'm Malyganya Mariana Ortega, it's a pleasure to meet you, however, we, unfortunately, don't have time for pleasantries."

The girls and Elliot disappeared to a back room, one of the other employees begrudgingly handling both their stations. She wasn't a hunter, but she knew enough about Ivory and Elliot's side job that she covered their stations every now and then. Sitting at a round poker table, Elliot laid out a map of Texas for the girls to mark, staying silent.

"A pack that large working with a demon," Ivory slowly shook her head in disbelief, "No wonder you guys have had trouble." It was much worse than she originally thought. Despite her dislike for Opal as a person, she respected her immensely as a hunter. As well as Maly, although Ivory had never met the girl before, the girl was esteemed the one of the most capable werewolf hunters of their generation. "Although how's Daisy, its been a while since I've heard from her."

"She's as well as she can be," Maly took a sip of her drink, "Anyway, what matters is that we get rid of the pack as soon as possible. I've called in a few favors, and another will arrive tomorrow to help us. Are you willing to help us?"

"Absolutly, anything we can do to help," There was no hesitation in Ivory's voice as Elliot nodded his consent as well. "However, if a team of seven couldn't beat them before, what chance do we have with a team of six?"

"It's a different this time," Opal was being professional as she interacted with the siblings, much to the surprise of Maly, "Before we didn't have a solid idea of what we were dealing with now we do. We know their location, the blueprints of their house, who their leaders are, and their patrol routes. Besides, before we were also limited because the lives of children were at stake, but now we have nothing holding us back."

"If nothing else we need to disband this pack." Maly felt it necessary to clarify their intentions, "While killing all members is preferable, its almost impossible without suffering casualties. If we can manage to kill the leaders and cause enough civil strife in the pack, we can get them to leave town."

"Sounds good," Ivory frowned, "But one final thing, what happened to the other hunters that were helping you before? Why not call them back and do one huge sweep?" Ivory felt a tingling in her leg as she carefully observed Maly. The girl was still hurt, yet she carried herself in a dignified manner. In fact, Ivory could barely read her, which made her a bit nervous.

"They have a larger issue to deal with," Opal bit out, "Something far more dangerous and important than what we're dealing with, but we do know is that the best way to help them is to take down this pack."

The garage was lit with artificial white light, the concert floor slightly shiny under their boots. Four gorgeous cars sat protected and off as their drivers and passengers leaned against them with impatient twitches.

"Hello boys," Leon quickly approached them, trench coat fluttering behind his heels as he stopped in front of his men with a feral grin, "Sorry to keep you waiting, I had some business to take care of." Visions of dark tanned skin, long black hair, and distinct Indian features made his chuckle, oh yes, he was working alright.

"Whatever, boss," A man took a step forward, taking the pressure of his weight of the dark grey Audi, "What'd you need?"

"Hmm, for one, I need you to watch your tone with me, Marcus." Although Leon was slightly smaller than the beefy man in front of him, Marcus diverted his gaze, "But what I really need if for you guys to track down the two female hunters; before they can gather up arms and come back for us." One of the guys mumbled darkly under his breath, and Leon's gaze snapped to him, "Do you have some kind of problem, friend," Leon took a step closer to him, challenging him "Speak up."

But this one didn't back down like Marcus, no, he wouldn't just cower like a weakling while the supposed Alpha was invading their free time to do his dirty work, so he licked his lips and opened his mouth with a snarl, "Damn right I got a problem, Leon," He addressed the Alpha by name, stripping him of his respect, his superiority, and bringing himself to the same level as the Alpha, "Is going after those girls your idea, or the demon freak you've let loose in the house? Because the Leon I knew, wouldn't give a rats ass about two whores that took the walk of shame to the other side of state; he'd be throwing a party and hunting with us." He took as deep breath, and Leon's scowl became furious, "Ever since that demon showed up, it's made you its bitch, and I'm not going to take orders from some weakling, freak who choses a demon over his own brother."

"Who the hell," Leon was cut off.

"We know about Avid, Leon. We all know how your brother has been screwing around with the hunters and keeping stuff from the pack, and everyone overlooked it. But I can't, and I know the others can't, overlook you locking Avid in a dungeon because this demon told you to, when you wouldn't even seriously lock him in his damn room after he disobeyed you over and over again!" The man was panting, only then did he notice, as he took in a gulp of breath, that the others had stepped away from him, not looking him in the eye. Dread filled him as he realized they would not stand beside him, and he looked to Leon, who was looking at him with calculating calm before he gave a dry chuckle.

"So, you think I'm weak." Leon's fingers tangled in the man's dark brown locks, dragging him into up the stairs and towards the backyard, the others following him stiffly with fear in their eyes. The man clawed at Leon's hands, sprouting curses as Leon tossed him on the grass covered ground; the party halting imminently as he scrambled to his feet, teeth bared. "Attention everyone!" Leon yelled out, no doubt if the neighbors were outside, they would hear, "Its come to my attention that some people have problems with the way I do things, and I'm not unreasonable, I'm all for democracy! This man," Leon lazily pointed to the stone still rebel, a pleasant smile on his face "Says that I'm a demon's bitch, that I've become soft, and that I've betrayed my brother. Oh and that I'm weak. So, anyone who agrees, raise your hand." No one moved, so Leon walked towards a group gathered beside the pool. He reached out and gently pulled a younger man away from the group; looking at him with a mockingly distraught frown, "Do you agree with this man, Devon? Am I a bad Alpha?"

"N-no sir, Alpha! Not at all," The kid stuttered out, Goosebumps rising on his flesh. Leon releases him, giving him a gentle pat on the shoulder to show he wasn't angry at the kid, and a sort of apology for singling him out.

"Thank you Devon. Since no one seems to agree with that guy," Leon was, in a sense, dehumanizing the man, he knew what the man's name was, but by refusing to say it, he was alienating the man, slowly separating him in the mind of the pack. "Does anyone agree with, Devon?" There was a creeping silence before a woman stepped forward, her short brown hair in a pixie cut.

"I agree with him, Alpha," Her voice was strong and clear, "I will follow you anywhere." She gave him a soft smile, a true smile. Leon hummed his approval, he could always trust Jenny, Zeke's girlfriend, to have his back, even if she was a bit dramatic.

Soon others stepped forward, declaring their loyalty to Leon, there was a loud wash of noise. Above the commotion, Avid leaned slightly over the balcony, mouth slightly open as he gazed at his brother is fearful awe. Never had he known how good his brother was at manipulating people. Turning their fear into devotion so smoothly, that they truly believed they loved him. It was as beautiful as it was sickening. Leaning with Eric's back to the railing, It smiled up towards the sky. The yells of loyalty were getting louder, frantic, a frenzy of devoted confusion and blind trust. Leon gave the order, and the man, who only this morning was laughing with these very same people, was torn to shreds by the ones he called family.

* * *

**Sorry for the early update, but I'm heading out for school and won't be able to update tomorrow since we're driving and won't have internet. So I just decided to post this a bit early rather than skipping a week. I will update as planned next sunday, so don't worry about that! Also is it ok if I start asking a question every week for you guys to answer in your reviews?**

**How do you feel about the development of your particular character? If you're character is just now being introduced, what is your first impression of them? Is there anywhere you feel I could improve, or something I didn't get right?**

**See you next, Sunday!**


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